Change detection of coastal zone in Persian Gulf (1970 to 2002): Using topography map and remotely sensed data
Saied Pirasteh
Remote Sensing&GIS, Faculty of Engineering,
Islamic Azad University of Dezful, Dezful (Iran)
E mail:- moshaver1380@yahoo.co.uk
Abstract:
Persian Gulf is situated in the south of Iran and extends a kidney-shaped water body
orientated in a northwest to southeast direction. The length of Persian Gulf is about 1000km.
Shatul-Arab river from Iraq and the Karoon and Maroon rivers from Iran drain water with
transportation material and further sedimented to Persian Gulf. It is caused in regression and
transgression for changing the coast line from 1970 to 2002. In this research satellite TM data
dated 1990 and 1993 with ETM satellite data of 2002 were compared in order to deduce
changes. The result was calibrated to the topography map dated 1970 and field observations.
All the three satellite data are geocoded and further georeferenced with topography map.
Different image processing techniques are carried out to enhance the changes from 1990-1993
to 2002. Band math, band ratio, supervised and unsupervised classification, post
classification, band selection and masking are applied using ENVI software. The coast line of
the Persian Gulf was also digitized on topography map using Arcview software. This study
shows that band ratio of 3/7 and 5/7 increase the enhancement for interpretation of the
changes. This study also shows that selecting bands from three different images with making
FCC (4-3-2) can enhance the change detection providing various colors in the image. It is also
reveals that the coast line of Persian Gulf at places is regretted about 200 meters to 1500metes
since 1970 to1990 and further to 2002 transgression is seen to 800 meters. It is also seen that
due to large transportation's materials and sedimentation from Karoon, Maroon and Shatul-Arab
rivers regression is taken place. However, the study indicates that modern image
processing techniques beside GIS technology can provide good information for the change
detection and coastal zones study where may be used for any coastal management program.
Introduction
The Persian Gulf is quite shallow. The Persian Gulf is a kidney-shaped water body
orientated in a north west to south east direction. It is approximately 917 km long with its
greatest width being 338 km. The Shatt-al- Arab river, the Gulf's main source of fresh water,
Karoon and Maroon river flow primarily from Iraq and Iran respectively into the northern end
of the Gulf. The Tigris and Euphrates, two of the largest river systems in the Middle East,
merge together to form the Shatt-al-Arab river shortly before it enters the Gulf. At its south
east terminus, the Gulf is linked to the Gulf of Oman and eventually the Arabian Sea and
Indian Ocean via the Strait of Hormuz. Figure 1, a mosaic of NOAA AVHRR scenes acquired
on September 1 and 6, 1990, shows the Persian Gulf and surrounding landforms.
A portion of the Landsat satellite data with path and row 164/039 is selected in different dates
(1990, 1993, 2002). The topography map in scale 1:250000 dates 1970 of the same area is
taken. The emphasis is given to enhance the changes in coastal line during 1970 to 2002.
Transgression and regression are two phenomena's influence the Persian Gulf coast line.
Sedimentation and erosion are also two geomorphic factors which help transgression and
regression.

Figure 1.NOAA mosaic satellite image of Persian Gulf and Iran
Study area
The study area relates to a 4097 by 2388 pixel image ( Figure 2) dealing with a section of the
Persian coast line situated cross line to Bandar Geneveh City ( Figure.2). The Figure 2, a
ETM false color composite (FCC) 4,3,2 image taken on 1990, identifies the study area and
certain geographic features ( Figure 7). The bay near towards Iran is depth while the other
places of the coast toward the Oman with its greatest depths not exceeding 5m)(Ackleson et
al., 1992). The study area is covered about 166km of Persian Gulf coast line in Iran. It is
bounded by geography coordinate 352445.25 mE ( upper left) - 3348992.25 Nm and
445668.75 mE- 3279708.75mN ( lower right) on the image.

Figure 2. Study area ( Persian Gulf) South of Iran. Satellite ETM image dated 1990 FCC 432
Geology and Geomorphology
The present structure of the Persian Gulf is results of subduction and tectonic activities at the
time of uplifting in the Zagros belt (Figure 3) in Tertiary during first the orogen. The
maximum depth in Persian Gulf is towards Iran. It is indicating that there is a numerous
different tectonic history during the collision between Iranian and Arabian plates. The Zagros
mountain range (ZMR) in southern Iran, located on the Iranian side of the Arabian Platform,
are one branch of the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt. The stratigraphy and sedimentology of
the Zagros Thrust and Fold belt have been described by Falcon (1974), Farhoudi (1978), Ali
and Pirasteh ( 2004) and Pirasteh (2004).The Phanerozoic column is about 12000 m thick.
Paleozoic sedimentation was mainly epicontinental; from Permian to Miocene time it
consisted chiefly of carbonates. The Tethys Sea began to subducted under the Iranian Plate in
the Late Cretaceous. Cessation (Wolf, 1959) or slowing of subduction resulted in carbonate
sedimentation in Early Cenozoic time (Farhoudi, 1978) as well as the deposition of 400m
evaporatic materials in the Miocene. Orogenic movements began in the Middle or upper
Miocene when sedimentation became clastic. The opening of the Red Sea intensified folding
and uplift, which are still going on.

Figure 3. Trend of the Zagros Belt ended in Hormoz strait Persian Gulf
Geologically (Figure.4)the study area is comprises different lithounits. The age of the
lithounits is from Triassic to Recent. Dashtak Formation ( Figure.5) is consists of dolomite,
shale and anhydrite. Kangan Formation is consists of limestone and dolomite. Dalan
Formation comprises anhydrite, dolomite and limestone. Furghun Formation is also
comprises of sandstone and very less amount shales. The Khuff (Dalan Formation) is present
only in the Zagros fold belt and does not extend to central or northern Iran. It is also fully
marine and is not a sabkha sequence. The Dalan carbonates marked the beginning of marine
sedimentation in the Zagros basin, which continued almost uninterruptedly into the Early
Miocene. These carbonates contain fusulinids and corals and correspond to the Khuff
Formation of the Persian Gulf area (National Iranian Oil Co., 1978; Kashfi, 1992).

Figure 4. The geological map of Persian Gulf

Figure 5. Stratigraphic column of the Persian Gulf in Triassic-Permian (After Kashefi, 1976)
The Persian Gulf Permian basin was an elongate trough with the greatest subsidence
occurring in the southeast; therefore, the thickest sediments accumulated near the Oman
Mountains.
However, as with many other lithostratigraphic units in the Middle East, poor correlations and
confusing nomenclature are the rule rather than the exception. This problem is even worse for
the Permian-Triassic rocks as the data base (particularly the subsurface data) is scattered and
largely inaccessible. Consequently, some information regarding the Permian-Triassic
reservoir rocks has been presented incorrectly in various parts of the Middle East.
The structure of the Zagros Thrust and Fold Belt consists of numerous, mostly northwest
trending synclines and Anticlines. Steep flanks on most individual structures face southwest
(Falcon, 1969). Dextral displacements have been reported on faults parallel to the Main
Zagros Thrust between 33 º -35 º N (Tchalenko and Braud, 1974) and on the Kazerun Fault
(Falcon, 1974). The near-basement salt and Miocene salt play a major role in the morphology
and structure of the Zagros Thrust and Fold Belt. Geomorphologically rivers of Iran, with its
source in the Zagros Mountains are karoon,Maroon, Dez, Karkheh. The total length of
Karoon is 725 km, and it is navigable between Shushtar and the point where it joins Shatt El
Arab in Iraq.
Karoon has important tributaries, among them are the Dez river, with the conflux at
Shushtar, and Kerkeh river coming from the north, with the conflux further downstream at
Ahwaz. Transportation materials from Karoon and Maroon, Karkheh and Dez rivers are
deposited and caused changes in coast line. Sediment materials are observed in Persian Gulf
coast line. The drainages in the study area are medium to coarse. The Figures below (
Figures 6,7 and 8) show the evolution of the geomorphic processes in Persian Gulf.

Figure 6. A. Beginnings of the darinage development,
B. erosional remnant and
sedimentation,
C. showing the sea level in two dates
Methodology and digital image processing
For the study of change detection of the Persian Gulf coast line many fields observation
beside remotely sensed data are done. Global positioning system (GPS) is used during the
field visits to attempt the georeferencing coordinates and note the elevations. Topography
map in scale 1:250000 dated 1970 is scanned ( Figure.7). The digital topography map is
georeferenced using the ground control points taken by GPS. On screen digitization is
applied to extract the coast line.
Satellite data are provided by the Iranian space department. Landsat thematic mapper (TM )
data dated 1990 ( Figure 8) and 1993 are georeferenced using digital topography map.
Landsat enhance thematic mapper (ETM+) data dated 2002 ( Figure 9) is also georefereced
using TM data.
Various digital images processing (DIP) is attempted to detect the changes in Persian Gulf
coast line. The remote sensing softwares like ENVI , ER-Mapper are used for DIP on the
images. Supervised (Maximum likelihood) and unsupervised classification ( Isodata) ( Figure
10) is carried out for images. Post classification is applied to images to enhance the change
detection. Normolize differential vegetation index (NDVI) is also is carried out ( Figure 11).
Enhancement and sharpen filtering is also done on the images to extract the coast line. Band
ratio and band math techniques are carried out to produce various images. Different false
color composite (FCC) images are also produced. In order to make FCC images, band 4 ( red)
from ETm 2002 and band 3 (green) from TM-1993 image and band 2 (blue) from satellite
data 1990 are chosen. In other words, FCC images (RGB) red, green and blue is chosen for
different bands and different dated images. The FCC processing results a new image with
condition that lead us to interpret the change in coastal line of Persian Gulf during 1990 to
2002. The new FCC images are interpreted as follows:
- Red color- comprises of band 4 (IR)- ETM-2002
- Green color- comprises of band 3 ( visible)-TM-1993
- Blue color-comprises of band 2 (visible)-TM-1990
- Yellow color -composite colors of band 4 and band 3 from ETM-2002 image and
TM-1993 image. It is indicates changes during 1993 to 2002
- Purple color- composite colors of band 4 and band 2 from Tm-1993 and TM-1990
satellite images. It is also indicates changes during 1990 and 2002
- Turquoise color- composite colors of band 3 and band 2 from the satellite images TM
1990 and TM 1993. It shows the changes during 1990 to 1993.
- Finally the white color on the image is composites of all three band an show the
changes during 1990 and 1993 and2002.
For example band 4 is taken for making FCC from images dated 1990, 1993 and 2002 or
band 4 and band 3 are taken as red and green and NDVI image as blue. This is result very
clear image for increasing ability to digitize the coast line.
Masking techniques are used to mask the unnecessary objects on the images. Raster images
are converted to vector in shape file that use in GIS environment ( Arcview software) to
making topology and generate maps.
Later the results from the images are superimposed on digital topography map in scale
1:250000. The spatial analysis in GIS environment is made it easy to extract the different
distance between coast lines produced by DIP on satellite images and digital topography map.
All images produced by DIP techniques are compared to detect the coast line in different
dates. The coast line is also digitally drawn on images using on screen techniques and
compared to digital topography map. Therefore, the coast line is extracted from various
images (dated 1990, 1993 and 2002) and digital topography map dated 1970.

Figure 7. Topography map in scale 1:250,000

Figure 8.Satellite image date 1990 showing Persian Gulf

Figure 9. Satellite image date 2002 showing Persian Gulf

Figure 10. Showing image produced using unsupervised classification (Isodata)

Figure 11 . Showing coast line using NDVI
Results and discussions
Remotely sensed data beside GIS techniques are increasingly used in earth sciences. This
study discusses the role of remote sensing and GIS to make a proper management for coastal
programming. Erosion and sedimentation are factors for changing the coastal line. Geology
and geomorphology are also parameters to help changes during the time. The area probably is
affected by the Gulf war during 1990 and sedimentation took place to help the changes in
Persian Gulf coast line and environment. Different maps are produced in GIS environment
and could be used in planning and port programming.
This study shows that the band ratio 3/7 and 5/7 are increasing the interpretation ability to
change detection of Persian coast line. It is also reveals that the coast line of Persian Gulf at
places is regretted about 200 meters to 1500 metes since 1970 to1990 and further to 2002
transgression is seen to 800 meters (Figure 12). It is also seen that due to large transportation's
materials and sedimentation from Karoon, Maroon and Shatul-Arab rivers regression is taken
place. However, the study indicates that modern image processing techniques can provide
good information for the change detection and coastal zones study where may be used for any
coastal management program.
Broadly the study emphasis on following objectives:
- To identify the problem issues in developing of the national data bank
- To establish proper GIS support for the Persian Gulf Integrated Coastal Area
Management
-
To prepare a ground for future improvement of the national marine data
management
-
To identify appropriate ways for solving the mentioned problems
- Identified the issues to be considered in data bank development and GIS
support
-
Defined the future action plan at national level

Figure 12. Changes in Persian Gulf coast line
Acknowledgement
Author is thankful to Mrs. Leila Farzinpor for her kind support during the work. Author is
also grateful to Iranian survey organization for providing topography maps.
References
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Persian (Arabian) Gulf During STS-45." Geocarto International No. 4, pp.59-68.
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geology and interpretation: Aided by Remote sensing and GIS, International journal of remote sensing,
UK-Vol.25,issue 21, pp.4715-4727
- Kashfi M.S. [1992].- Geology of the Permian "supergiant" gas reservoirs in the greater Persian Gulf
area. Journ. Petrol. Geol., Vol. 15: 465-480.
- National Iranian Oil Co. [1978].- Geological maps and sections of Iran. Exploration and Production
Division, Tehran.
- Falcon, N. L., 1969, Problems of the relationship between surface structure and deep displacements
illustrated by the Zagros Range, in Time and place in orogeny, Geol. Soc. London Spec. Pub.3, P. 9-22.
- Falcon, N. L., 1974, Southern Iran: Zagros Mountains, in Mesozoic-Cenozoic orogenic belts: Data for
orogenic studies: Alpine-Himalayan orogens, Geol. Soc. London Spec. Pub.4, P. 199-211.
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orogenic studies: Alpine-Himalayan orogens, Geol. Soc. London Spec. Pub.4, P. 199-211.
- Farhoudi, G., 1978, A Comparison of Zagros Geology to Island Arcs, J. of Geology, V.86, P. 325-334.
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