Coastal evolution of the Sultanate Oman (Arabian Peninsula) - tectonic versus sea-level forcing

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Coastal areas are dynamic and fast changing natural environments. Several factors, acting on different time scales control their evolution. Furthermore, coastal areas are densely populated, especially in the Sultanate of Oman where more than half of the population is living at the coast. Due to economic improvements Oman experiences substantial changes in land utilization, particularly In Al Batinah and Muscat regions. With the given natural boundary conditions different interests of various user groups are in conflict. Ongoing global climate warming will result in further intensification of the situation. In general there is a close link between the environment and sustainable economical development. Geological research in coastal areas as proposed here, yields scientific information to form the base of an integrated coastal zone management system, enabling the sustainable development for the welfare of the society.Coastal evolution is a function of several forcing factors e.g.: differential land movement which in turn is an effect of local variations in the tectonic stress field; climate and sediment availability. We plan to quantify the various forcing factors by analysing Quaternary coastal sediments and geomorphologic features (e.g. terraces, notches) as archives and indicators. This proposal focuses on revealing long-term and short term changes within the coastal zone. Long-term changes can be described by the reconstruction and comparison of the relative sea-level development along the coastline. Short-term coastal changes are often related to natural hazards. Tropical cyclones as well as tsunamis are known to have affected Oman s coastline in the past. By analysing geological archives information regarding recurrence intervals and potential damages will be revealed which allows assessing the risk and estimating the vulnerability. This will be done for different areas along the coast which have been identified as key-locations. Sediment cores and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys are proposed to analyse Quaternary coastal sediments; terrestrial Light Detection and Radar (T-LIDAR) techniques will be used to analyse geomorphologic features (e.g. terraces, notches).The proposed study will be carried out by a research team involving B.Sc. and M.Sc. students.