Frontiers in Remote Sensing (Sep 2024)
Remote sensing of 50 years of coastal urbanization and environmental change in the Arabian Gulf: a systematic review
Abstract
Since the 1970s oil boom, nations surrounding the Arabian Gulf have witnessed rapid coastal urbanization, which accelerated in the early 2000s with the emergence of large-scale coastal ‘mega-projects’ designed to accommodate growing populations, attract international investments, and promote tourism. This development surge has had profound environmental impacts, including significant habitat modification, land use and land cover (LULC) change, and increased environmental pressure. Remote sensing (RS) technologies have become indispensable tools for monitoring these changes, offering cost-effective and non-intrusive methods to map and assess coastal zones. However, RS applications across the Arabian Gulf have been spatially limited, often focusing narrowly on specific cities or habitats while neglecting the broader geographical and coastal dimensions of urbanization. This study addresses this gap by conducting a systematic review of peer-reviewed RS literature from 1971 to 2022, covering the coastal regions of the eight nations bordering the Arabian Gulf. A total of 186 publications were categorized into three focal areas: 1) coastal urbanization and LULC, 2) coastal and marine habitats, and 3) environmental pressures and state changes. The results reveal a significant increase in RS studies in recent years, with around two-thirds of the publications (64.3%) appearing between 2016 and 2022. Studies predominantly focused on environmental pressures and state changes (35%), followed by habitat modification (27%), and coastal urbanization (20%). Geographically, RS research primarily concentrated on the coasts of the southern Gulf (UAE and Qatar) and western Gulf (Bahrain and Saudi Arabia), where major urban centers are located, while the northern Gulf (Kuwait and Iraq) and Iranian coast have been less studied. The systematic review highlights the need for integrated RS and GIS-based monitoring systems that combine different sources of RS data and in situ measurements to evaluate the Gulf as a unified system. Expanding spatial coverage, enhancing temporal analysis, and fostering regional collaboration are necessary to improve the understanding and management of coastal urbanization and environmental changes in the Arabian Gulf. This approach will more effectively inform decision-makers, and support more sustainable coastal management and long-term environmental resilience in the region.
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