Abstract
Climate changes in terms of sea level rise and global warming impose different ramifications upon the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, which extends to 1840 km and witnesses accelerated urban development. The shoreline is mostly resistant to erosion and inundation by seawater due to the inherent hard nature and the relatively higher relief. Digital elevation models reveal that only about 890 km2 of the coast occurs below 1 m. Global warming has a more conceivable impact upon the coast as numerous coral reef ecosystems exist, and the harm is inevitable. The coastal vulnerability index indicates that about 16 % of the coast is under high vulnerability, whereas 44 % of the coast is intimately low vulnerable to climate change. Higher vulnerable coastal segments include: relatively flat and lowlands; inhabited; and/or coral-mangrove-rich shorelines. Coastal zone management and rescue plans are essential to protect coastal resources for a long-term sustainable development.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aburizaiza O, Zaigham N, Gohar Z, Mahar A, Siddiq A, Noor S (2013) Environmental assessment of natural & anthropogenic hazards and impact on seawater desalination along Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. J Water Resour Prot 5:414–426
AlRashidi M, Shobrak M, Al-Eissaa M, Székely T (2012) Integrating spatial data and shorebird nesting locations to predict the potential future impact of global warming on coastal habitats: a case study on Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia. Saudi J Biol Sci 19:311–315
Appelquist L, Balstrøm T (2014) Application of the coastal hazard wheel methodology for coastal multi-hazard assessment and management in the state of Djibouti. Climate Risk Manag 3:79–95
Beck P, Atzberger C, Høgda K, Johansen B, Andrew S (2006) Improved monitoring of vegetation dynamics at very high latitudes: a new method using MODIS NDVI. Rem Sens Environ 100:321–334
Behairy A (1983) Marine transgressions in the west coast of Saudi Arabia (Red Sea) between mid-Pleistocene and present. Marine Geol 52:25–31
Bird E (2010) Saudi Arabia, Red Sea Coast. Encyclopedia of the World’s Coastal Landforms. Springer Science + Business Media. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-8639-7_16.1
Boruff BJ, Emrich C, Cutter SL (2005) Erosion hazard vulnerability of US coastal counties. J Coastal Res 21:932–943
Bosworth W, Huchon P, McClay K (2005) The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Basins. J Afr Earth Sci 43:334–378
Cantin NE, Cohen AL, Karnauskas KB, Tarrant AM, McCorkle DC (2010) Ocean warming slows coral growth in the central Red Sea. Science 329(5989):322–325
Church J, White N, Coleman R, Lambeck K, Metrovica J (2004) Estimates of the regional distribution of sea level rise over the 1950–2000 period. J Clim 17:2609–2625
Diez PG, Perillo GME, Piccolo MC (2007) Vulnerability to sea-level rise on the coast of the Buenos Aires Province. J Coast Res 23:119–142
Doukakis E (2005) Coastal vulnerability and risk parameters. Eur Water 11(12):3–7
Dubinsky Z, Stambler N (eds) (2011) Coral reefs: an ecosystem in transition. Springer Science, Heidelberg
Duriyapong F, Nakhapakorn K (2011) Coastal vulnerability assessment: a case study of Samut Sakhon coastal zone. Songklanakarin J Sci Technol 33:469–476
Dwarakish GS, Vinay SA, Natesan U, Asano T, Kakinuma T, Venkataramana K, Pai BJ, Babita MK (2009) Coastal vulnerability assessment of the future sea level rise in Udupi coastal zone of Karnataka state, west coast of India. Ocean Coast Manag 52:467–478
Ellison J (1999) Impacts of sediment burial on mangroves. Mar Pollut Bull 37:420–426
Gornitz VM, Daniels RC, White TW, Birdwell KR (1994) The development of coastal risk assessment database: vulnerability to sea-level rise in the US southeast. J Coast Res 12:327–338
Hakami B, Abu Seif E (2014) Geo-Environmental Assessment of Hazardous Effects of Disposal Wastewater, Jeddah, Red Sea Coast, Saudi Arabia. Int J Innov Res Dev 3:170–179
Hereher M (2010) Vulnerability of the Nile Delta to sea level rise: an assessment using remote Sensing. Geomat Nat Hazards Risk 1:315–321
Hereher M (2015a) Assessment of Egypt’s Red Sea coastal sensitivity to climate change. Environ Earth Sci 74:2831–2843. doi:10.1007/s12665-015-4304-z
Hereher M (2015b) Assessment of South Sinai coastal vulnerability to climate change. J Coast Res 31(6):1469–1477. doi:10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-14-00018.1
Hereher M (2015c) Coastal vulnerability assessment of Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. Geomat Nat Hazards Risk 6(4):342–355
Hoegh-Guldberg O (1999) Climate change, coral bleaching and the future of the world’s coral reefs. Mar Freshw Res 50:839–866
Hoegh-Guldberg O (2011) Coral reef ecosystems and anthropogenic climate change. Region Environ Change 11:215–227
IPCC (2001) Climate change 2001: the scientific basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In: Houghton JT, Ding Y, Griggs DJ, Noguer, M, van der Linden PJ, Dai X, Maskell K, Johnson CA (eds) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, New York
IPCC (2007) Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In: Parry ML, Canziani OF, Palutikof JP, van der Linden PJ, Hanson CE (eds) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Kleypas JA, Buddemeier RW, Archer D, Gattuso JP, Langdon C, Opdyke BN (1999) Geochemical consequences of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on coral reefs. Science 284(5411):118–120
Kumar A, Kunte P (2012) Coastal vulnerability assessment for Chennai, east coast of India using geospatial techniques. Nat Hazards 64:853–872
Kumar TS, Mahendra RS, Nayak S, Radhakrishnan K, Sahu KC (2010) Coastal vulnerability assessment for Orissa State, East Coast of India. J Coast Res 26:523–534
Kunte PD, Jauhari N, Mehrotra U, Kotha M, Hursthouse AS, Gagnon AS (2014) Multi-hazards coastal vulnerability assessment of Goa, India using geospatial techniques. Ocean Coastal Manag 95:264–281
McWilliams JP, Cote IM, Gill JA, Sutherland WJ, Watkinson A (2005) Accelerating impacts of temperature-induced coral bleaching in the Caribbean. Ecology 86(8):2055–2060
Nicholls RJ (2002) Analysis of global impacts of sea-level rise: a case study of flooding. Phys Chem Earth 27:1455–1466
Ozyurt G, Ergin A (2010) Improving coastal vulnerability assessments to sea-level rise: a new indicator-based methodology for decision makers. J Coast Res 26:265–273
Pendleton EA, Thieler ER, Williams SJ (2005) Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Golden Gate National Recreation Area to Sea-Level Rise. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005-1058
Price AR, Jobbins G, Shepherd A, Ormond RF (1998) An integrated environmental assessment of the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. Environ Conserv 25:65–76
Rao KN, Subraelu P, Rao T, Malini B, Ratheesh R, Bhatta-charya S, Rajawat A (2008) Sea level rise and coastal vulnerability: an assessment of Andhra Pradesh coast, India through remote sensing and GIS. J Coast Conserv 12(4):195–207
Roberts CM, McClean CJ, Veron JE, Hawkins JP, Allen GR, McAllister DE, Mittermeier CG, Schueler FW, Spalding M, Wells F, Ynne CV, Werner TB (2002) Marine biodiversity hotspots and conservation priorities for tropical reefs. Science 295(5558):1280–1284
Saad A (2010) Wave and wind conditions in the Red Sea—a numerical study using a third generation wave model. M.Sc. Thesis in Physical Oceanography. Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, Norway
Saifullah SM (1994) Mangrove ecosystem of Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast—an overview. J King Abdulaziz Univ Mar Sci 7:263–270
Sheppard CR (2003) Predicted recurrences of mass coral mortality in the Indian Ocean. Nature 425:294–297
Simas T, Nunes J, Ferreira J (2001) Effects of global climate change on coastal salt marshes. Ecol Model 139:1–15
Small C, Nicholls RJ (2003) A global analysis of human settlement in coastal zones. J Coast Res 19(3):584–599
Thieler ER, Hammar-Klose ES (1999) National assessment of coastal vulnerability to sea level rise, U.S. Atlantic coast. U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 99–593, 1 sheet
Thieler ER, Hammar-Klose ES (2000) National assessment of coastal vulnerability to future sea-level rise: preliminary results for the U.S. Atlantic coast. U.S. Geological Survey, Open File Report 99–593, 1 sheet
Tucker CJ (1979) Red and photographic infrared linear combinations for monitoring vegetation. Rem Sens Environ 8:127–150
UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) (1992) The world environment 1972–1992: two decades of challenge. Chapman & Hall, New York
Vincent P (2008) Saudi Arabia: an environmental overview. Taylor & Francis Group, London
Weiss JL, Gutzler DS, Coonrod A, Dahm CN (2004) Long term vegetation monitoring with NDVI in a diverse semi-arid setting, central New Mexico, USA. J Arid Environ 58:249–272
Williams S (2013) Sea-level rise implications for coastal regions. J Coast Res 63:184–196
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research, The University of Hail, Saudi Arabia—Project number: SCBI-17. The author also acknowledges two anonymous reviewers for suggesting valuable comments and for their deep revision of the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hereher, M.E. Vulnerability assessment of the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast to climate change. Environ Earth Sci 75, 30 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4835-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4835-3