Land cover change detection in the Turkish coastal zone based on 28-year (1990-2018) Corine data.

In this research, land cover changes in the coastal region of Turkey were analyzed using the Corine dataset between 1990 and 2018. Changes in each period were analyzed by using the rate of change and the annual rate of change, the transition matrix of net changes, and the transition probability matrix. In order to predict land cover change trends and to determine future land cover change probabilities, a combination of Markov and cellular automata models was used. It was determined that the highest increase in each study period was in artificial surfaces and the highest decrease was in the forest and the semi-natural area. The total forest areas were converted to the other land cover type in the first study period amounting to 2479.32 km2. Also, it was decreased and transformed by about 62.47 km2, 118.82 km2, and 203.09 km2 of the forest area that existed in the second, third, and fourth periods respectively. The results indicate that the probabilities of the increasing area will be covered by artificial surfaces and agricultural areas. It is estimated that the rate of 57% in 1990, the initial year of the forest areas, will decrease to 53.4% in 2034 and to 53% in 2050. Also, the rate of 2.1% in 1990, the initial year of the artificial surfaces, will increase to 4.5% in 2034 and to 5.0% in 2050. It is seen that more artificial surfaces will be needed in the Turkish coastal region due to the increasing population and number of tourists. It is important to evaluate and investigate the coastal areas where more artificial areas are expected to be needed within the scope of the coastal area management plans to be prepared at the national scale.

Summer season sea surface temperature changes in the Aegean Sea based on 30 years (1989-2019) of Landsat thermal infrared data.

In this research, sea surface temperature (SST) variability for the summer season in the Aegean Sea was analysed over a period of 30 years by using the Landsat thermal infrared bands. A total of 88 Landsat 5, 7, and 8 thermal infrared satellite images from June, July, and August were used for each year from 1989 to 2019. To estimate SST from the thermal infrared band data, thermal infrared sensor at-sensor spectral radiance, and thermal infrared sensor top-of-atmosphere brightness temperatures were used. SST pixel values were extracted from thermal images for the 3-month summer season of each year. In order to validate the findings, regression analysis was performed between the Mediterranean Sea Ultra High Resolution SST L4 data and Landsat data for the 2008-2019 period. Regression constant R-squared values were found to be 0.9672 for June, 0.9550 for July, 0.9634 for August, and 0.9634 for all summer seasons. It was calculated that the minimum value of the average SST was 18.44 ± 2.87 °C in 1992, and the maximum value of the average SST was 23.45 ± 0.70 °C in 2018. According to the Landsat data, over the past 30 years, the annual average SST changes were estimated to be 0.11 °C, and the total changes of average SST were estimated to be 3.19 ± 1.26 °C. As a result of the analysis and the validation, we can see that there is a rising trend in sea surface temperature in the Aegean Sea. However, it is difficult to determine whether this upward trend is related to global climate change.

The socio-economic significance of the Turkish coastal environment for sustainable development.

The objective of this study was to estimate the contribution from the coastal resources in the coastal region to the national economy for sustainable development. There was no separate data base for the coastal zone so that the contribution from the coastal resources in the coastal region to the national economy was not evaluated. In estimating the significance of Turkish coastal cities, indirect methods and the geographical information system were used. In conclusion, it was found that 61.09% of the total national gross domestic product and 50.75% of the national agricultural, 90.98% of the national fisheries, 68.19% of the national tourism and 71.82% of the national industrial gross domestic product came from the coastal zone. It was determined that while coastal cities of Turkey had 28.23% of the national surface area, the coastal district had 12.96%; in other words, 21.5 million (28.04%) of the national population lived in 101.5 thousand km(2) (12.96%) of the national surface area. Approximately 44% of the national gross domestic product comes from the top ten coastal cities. According to the contribution ratio to the national economy of each coastal city, these low-lying coastal cities have about $16 billion risk value. An analysis showed that the coastal zone is very important for the national economy of Turkey and also the pressure on the coastal zone is very high. At a time of increasing pressures on coastal resources of Turkey, the decision-makers need the most up-to-date information on the full range of values these resources provide in order to make decisions that best reflect the public interest.

Quantitative analysis of shoreline changes at the Mediterranean Coast in Turkey.

This research is focused on the coastline evolution monitoring and its potential change estimation by remote sensing techniques using multi-temporal Landsat images at the southeast coasts of the Mediterranean Sea in Turkey. The study area includes the coastal zone located in the Cukurova Delta coasts. The Cukurova Delta has accreted toward the Mediterranean Sea as a result of sediment discharge and transport from Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers. These processes have caused the morphological changes (accretion or erosion) of coastline along some parts of the southeast coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, coastline changes were researched by using radiometrically and geometrically corrected multi-temporal and multi-spectral data from Landsat Multispectral Scanner dated 1972, Thematic Mapper dated 1987, and Enhanced Thematic Mapper dated 2002. In the image processing steps, mosaicing, subset, Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis Technique classification, band ratioing (B5/B2), edge detection, and overlay techniques were used to carry out coastline extraction and the Digital Shoreline Analysis System was used to calculate rate of coastline changes. As a result of the analysis, in some parts of the research area, remarkable coastline changes (more than 2,900 m withdrawal and -24.50 m/year erosion) were observed for a 30-year period.

National assessment of sea level rise using topographic and census data for Turkish coastal zone.

Turkish coastal zone elevation to sea level rise was illustrated by using digital elevation model and Geographical information systems methods. It was intended to determine several parameters such as population, settlements, land use, wetlands, contribution to national agricultural production and taxes at risk by using high resolution SRTM topographic, orthorectified Landsat Thematic Mapper Mosaics and census data with GIS methods within 0-10 m elevation of national level. All parameters were examined for coastal cities, coastal districts, settlements and villages' status. As a result of the analysis of data set, it was found that approximately 7,319 km(2) of land area lies below 10 m contour line in Turkey, and is hence highly vulnerable to sea-level rise. 28 coastal cities, 191 districts and 181 villages or towns are located below 10 m contour line in study area. In the short term, for the struggle of negative impact of sea level rise, the findings suggest that the Ministry of Environment should declare new areas as protection areas and develop special environmental programs for national level.