Analyzing the relationship between changes in the coastline and land use within coastal cells, case study: Talsh to Anzali

Neglecting coastal erosion can lead to environmental hazards that are among the main factors affecting human communities and facilities. Paleontology researches demonstrate tens of meters fluctuation in water level of the Caspian Sea. The shores of the Caspian Sea have variable topography and land use including lowlands (estuaries of rivers, gulfs and progradation) and sandy uplands. In this study, spatiotemporal analysis was used to analyze the changes in sandy coasts in relation to land use changes and the adaptation of the coastal line in the study area within the framework of coastal cells. Land use data for the years 1975 and 2020 were extracted using SAGA and ENVI software, and land use changes were analyzed using IDRISI software. The results showed that 68 kilometers of the coast have been unstable, with the majority of these areas experiencing erosion due to human activities (land use changes), including cells 10 and 3. Also, the erosion of unstable cells 5, 6, and 1 is of natural erosion type (sea level changes), and the erosion of unstable cells 9 and 2 is of natural-human erosion type. The remaining 24 kilometers of the studied coastline have been stable coasts, with the majority of coastal areas experiencing natural erosion (sea level changes), including cells 7 and 8. Cell 4 has had sustainable coasts with erosion of a natural-human type.