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

沿海地区是动态和快速变化的自然环境。有几个因素在不同的时间尺度上控制着它们的进化。此外，沿海地区人口密集，特别是在阿曼苏丹国，一半以上的人口居住在沿海地区。由于经济的改善，阿曼在土地利用方面发生了重大变化，特别是在Al Batinah和Muscat地区。在给定的自然边界条件下，不同用户群体的不同利益是相互冲突的。持续的全球气候变暖将导致这种情况进一步加剧。一般来说，环境与可持续经济发展之间有着密切的联系。本文提出的海岸带地质研究，为海岸带综合管理系统提供科学信息，实现海岸带可持续发展，造福社会。海岸演化是几个强迫因素的函数，例如：陆地的差异运动，而差异运动又是局部构造应力场变化的影响；气候和沉积物可用性。我们计划通过分析第四纪海岸沉积物和地貌特征（如梯田、缺口）作为档案和指标来量化各种强迫因子。该方案着重揭示海岸带内的长期和短期变化。通过对海岸线相对海平面发展的重建和比较，可以描述长期变化。短期的海岸变化往往与自然灾害有关。据悉，阿曼的海岸线曾受到过热带气旋和海啸的影响。通过对地质档案的分析，揭示了地震的复发间隔和潜在损害的信息，从而可以评估地震的风险和脆弱性。这将在沿海的不同地区进行，这些地区被确定为关键地点。提出了沉积物岩心和探地雷达（GPR）测量来分析第四纪海岸沉积物；地面光探测和雷达（T-LIDAR）技术将用于分析地貌特征（如梯田、缺口）。建议的研究将由一个包括理学士和理学硕士学生的研究小组进行。

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.