Abstract
The Sultanate of Oman has a long coastline extending for about 3165 km including a number of bays and islands. Oman’s coastline borders the Arabian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Most of this coastline is soft and low laying shore subject to the dynamics of sediment transport and the landward retreat of the shoreline, caused by anthropogenic factors and sea level rise associated with climate change. This paper aims to assess the vulnerability of the entire Omani coastal zone to the expected sea level rise and storm surge. Methodology is based on applying Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) to identify clusters of high vulnerability areas according to their sensitivity and dynamic nature and increased risk resulted from seal level rise, erosion and extreme weather events. The coastal line of the governorates of Al Batinah, Muscat and Al-Wusta has scored highly due to possessing similar physical attributes. Based on that assessment a coastal vulnerability database utilizing GIS was created to help stakeholders involved in the coastal management to make better decisions.
Highlights
Sea level rise in the present time represents one of the most significant climate change indicators that affect coastal areas
This paper aims to assess the vulnerability of the entire Omani coastal zone to the expected sea level rise, and ocean thermal expansion and high waves associated with extreme meteorological events throughout the calculation of The Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI)
The CVI classes for the six coastal governorates in the Sultanate of Oman shows that Al Batinah coastline which is located in the northeastern part of the Sultanate of Oman, bounded between the Western Hajar Mountain Range and the Sea of Oman, is the most vulnerable to the Sea Level Rise (SLR) (98.5% very highly vulnerable)
Summary
Sea level rise in the present time represents one of the most significant climate change indicators that affect coastal areas. (2015) Application of Geo-Processing Model for a Quantitative Assessment of Coastal Exposure and Sensitivity to Sea Level Rise in the Sultanate of Oman. The global mean sea-level rise situation results from thermal expansion as well as ice melt. Knowledge of these processes is quite essential and represents an appealing area of research for assessment of coastal vulnerability to climate change. According to the IPCC vulnerability is a function of the character, magnitude, and the rate of climate change to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity, and its adaptive capacity [1]. The assessment may include already implemented measures as well as scenarios of future adaptation
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