Title: The trend of changes in the coastline of southwestern Iran in the Persian Gulf due to drought over a period of 25 years

Abstract

In the coastal geographical area of southwestern Iran in the Persian Gulf, on the border between land and water, there are two ecosystems adjacent to different marine and continental climates, and drought, industrial development and geological phenomena are the most common features of this region. The processes governing coastal areas and its changes are a function of short-term and long-term trends and have variable amplitude and dimensions in different parts. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting the occurrence of coastal changes over a period of 25 years in the region. For this purpose, Landsat images from 1995 to 2019 were used to detect changes in the coastline of the study area. Monitoring of coastline changes in satellite images as well as after statistical analysis showed that there were significant changes in the water area of the coastline and in addition to changes in various man-made uses, the consequences of drought and low rainfall The shoreline has undergone significant spatial changes in some places up to more than 200 meters and changes in tidal range over a period of 25 years. And most of the changes have been in the form of vegetation conversion to desert or construction and water areas to barren lands and the most important marine habitats that are in coastal waters and islands of the study area, including mangrove forests and coral reefs are important. Trends, warming, drought and marine pollution are among the most important factors in the destruction of these marine ecosystems and endanger the stability of the aquatic ecosystem.