Vulnerability of the Caspian Sea shoreline to changes in hydrology and climate
During the past three decades, sea water level (SWL) in the Caspian Sea has declined by about 2 m and sea area has decreased by about 15 000 km ^2 . This has affected coastal communities, the environment and economically important gulfs of the sea (e.g. Dead Kultuk). To assess the effects of coastli...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abaad8 |
| _version_ | 1797747771688615936 |
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| author | Mahdi Akbari Aziza Baubekova Amin Roozbahani Abror Gafurov Alexander Shiklomanov Kabir Rasouli Natalya Ivkina Bjørn Kløve Ali Torabi Haghighi |
| author_facet | Mahdi Akbari Aziza Baubekova Amin Roozbahani Abror Gafurov Alexander Shiklomanov Kabir Rasouli Natalya Ivkina Bjørn Kløve Ali Torabi Haghighi |
| author_sort | Mahdi Akbari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | During the past three decades, sea water level (SWL) in the Caspian Sea has declined by about 2 m and sea area has decreased by about 15 000 km ^2 . This has affected coastal communities, the environment and economically important gulfs of the sea (e.g. Dead Kultuk). To assess the effects of coastline change and evaluate zones vulnerable to desiccation, we simulated SWL using total inflow from feeder rivers and precipitation and evaporation over the sea. We determined potential vulnerable areas of the sea over the past 80 years by comparing the minimum and maximum annual water body maps (for 1977 and 1995). We then determined the linear regression between SWL rise and covered potential vulnerable area (CVA), using annual Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) maps and SWL data from 1977 to 2018. Combining SWL-CVA regression and SWL simulation model enabled us to determine desiccated areas in different regions of the Caspian Sea due to changes in precipitation, evaporation and total inflow. The results showed that 25 000 km ^2 of the sea is potentially vulnerable to SWL fluctuations in terms of desiccation, with 70% of this vulnerable area located in Kazakhstan. Potential vulnerable area per kilometre coastline was found to be 6 km ^2 in Kazakhstan, 4 km ^2 in Russia and whole of Caspian Sea, 1.5 km ^2 in Iran, 1 km ^2 in Azerbaijan and 0.5 km ^2 in Turkmenistan. The results also indicated that SWL in the Caspian Sea is sensitive to evaporation and that e.g. a 37.5 mm decrease in mean annual net precipitation would lead to a 1875 km ^2 decrease in the sea area, while a 1 km ^3 decrease in mean annual inflow would lead to a 1400 km ^2 decrease in the sea area. Thus the developed framework enabled the spatial consequences of changes in water balance parameters on sea area to be quantified. It can be used to assess future changes in SWL and sea area due to anthropogenic activities and climate change. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:56:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-13aa7a5634074680b4926aca6591aad0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:56:22Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-13aa7a5634074680b4926aca6591aad02023-08-09T14:54:08ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262020-01-01151111500210.1088/1748-9326/abaad8Vulnerability of the Caspian Sea shoreline to changes in hydrology and climateMahdi Akbari0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6598-9994Aziza Baubekova1Amin Roozbahani2Abror Gafurov3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0337-465XAlexander Shiklomanov4Kabir Rasouli5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8176-2132Natalya Ivkina6Bjørn Kløve7Ali Torabi Haghighi8Water, Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Faculty of Technology, University of Oulu , FinlandWater, Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Faculty of Technology, University of Oulu , FinlandWater and Wastewater Macro Planning Office, Ministry of Energy , Tehran, IranGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section 5.4 Hydrology , Potsdam, GermanyEarth Systems Research Center, University of New Hampshire , Durham, United States of AmericaMeteorological Service of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada , Dorval, CanadaScientific-Research Center, Caspian Sea hydrometeorological research department, Hydrometeorological service of Kazakhstan, Kazhydromet , KazakhstanWater, Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Faculty of Technology, University of Oulu , FinlandWater, Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Faculty of Technology, University of Oulu , FinlandDuring the past three decades, sea water level (SWL) in the Caspian Sea has declined by about 2 m and sea area has decreased by about 15 000 km ^2 . This has affected coastal communities, the environment and economically important gulfs of the sea (e.g. Dead Kultuk). To assess the effects of coastline change and evaluate zones vulnerable to desiccation, we simulated SWL using total inflow from feeder rivers and precipitation and evaporation over the sea. We determined potential vulnerable areas of the sea over the past 80 years by comparing the minimum and maximum annual water body maps (for 1977 and 1995). We then determined the linear regression between SWL rise and covered potential vulnerable area (CVA), using annual Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) maps and SWL data from 1977 to 2018. Combining SWL-CVA regression and SWL simulation model enabled us to determine desiccated areas in different regions of the Caspian Sea due to changes in precipitation, evaporation and total inflow. The results showed that 25 000 km ^2 of the sea is potentially vulnerable to SWL fluctuations in terms of desiccation, with 70% of this vulnerable area located in Kazakhstan. Potential vulnerable area per kilometre coastline was found to be 6 km ^2 in Kazakhstan, 4 km ^2 in Russia and whole of Caspian Sea, 1.5 km ^2 in Iran, 1 km ^2 in Azerbaijan and 0.5 km ^2 in Turkmenistan. The results also indicated that SWL in the Caspian Sea is sensitive to evaporation and that e.g. a 37.5 mm decrease in mean annual net precipitation would lead to a 1875 km ^2 decrease in the sea area, while a 1 km ^3 decrease in mean annual inflow would lead to a 1400 km ^2 decrease in the sea area. Thus the developed framework enabled the spatial consequences of changes in water balance parameters on sea area to be quantified. It can be used to assess future changes in SWL and sea area due to anthropogenic activities and climate change.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abaad8sensitivity analysiswater balancesea water levelsimulationNormalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) |
| spellingShingle | Mahdi Akbari Aziza Baubekova Amin Roozbahani Abror Gafurov Alexander Shiklomanov Kabir Rasouli Natalya Ivkina Bjørn Kløve Ali Torabi Haghighi Vulnerability of the Caspian Sea shoreline to changes in hydrology and climate Environmental Research Letters sensitivity analysis water balance sea water level simulation Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) |
| title | Vulnerability of the Caspian Sea shoreline to changes in hydrology and climate |
| title_full | Vulnerability of the Caspian Sea shoreline to changes in hydrology and climate |
| title_fullStr | Vulnerability of the Caspian Sea shoreline to changes in hydrology and climate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vulnerability of the Caspian Sea shoreline to changes in hydrology and climate |
| title_short | Vulnerability of the Caspian Sea shoreline to changes in hydrology and climate |
| title_sort | vulnerability of the caspian sea shoreline to changes in hydrology and climate |
| topic | sensitivity analysis water balance sea water level simulation Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abaad8 |
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