Coastal Environmental Impact of Geohazards in the Area of the Habibas Islands (Western Algeria, Alboran): Insights from GIS-Analysis and Remote Sensing

Abstract

Algerian coastal areas in the southern part of the western Mediterranean Sea are prone to geohazards such as tsunami waves, storm surges, earthquakes, submarine mass movements, and volcanism. Located in the Gulf of Oran, the Habibas Archipelago is a well-preserved bio-environment where fauna and flora are unique. This region is nevertheless a zone where marine traffic (oil) and oil ports pose a threat to environmental offshore pollution. This study is focused on submarine mass movements and their potential to cause local tsunami waves. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data and the DEM-derived morphometric maps support these investigations being integrated into a GeoInformation System (GIS). Bathymetric data of the western Mediterranean Sea are used to derive causal factors that influence the susceptibility to submarine mass movements. Sentinel 2, Landsat 8, and Sentinel 1 radar images help to identify coastal areas prone to landslides and the coast-near structural pattern. By integrating data collected from the literature and maps (geology, tectonics, earthquakes, mass movements) into a GeoInformationSystem (GIS) and by using remote sensing analysis, it might be possible to derive more precisely in the case of submarine landslides and turbidity currents in the which direction potential tsunami waves caused by these mass movements might be focused and directed.