Добірка наукової літератури з теми "Physical geography – Aegean Sea Region"

Climate change induced sea-level rise (SLR) is on its increase globally. Regionally the lowlands of China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and islands of the Malaysian, Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos are among the world’s most threatened regions. Sea-level rise has major impacts on the ecosystems and society. It threatens coastal populations, economic activities, and fragile ecosystems as mangroves, coastal salt-marches and wetlands. This paper provides a summary of the current state of knowledge of sea level-rise and its effects on both human and natural ecosystems. The focus is on coastal urban areas and low lying deltas in South-East Asia and Vietnam, as one of the most threatened areas in the world. About 3 mm per year reflects the growing consensus on the average SLR worldwide. The trend speeds up during recent decades. The figures are subject to local, temporal and methodological variation. In Vietnam the average values of 3.3 mm per year during the 1993-2014 period are above the worldwide average. Although a basic conceptual understanding exists that the increasing global frequency of the strongest tropical cyclones is related with the increasing temperature and SLR, this relationship is insufficiently understood. Moreover the precise, complex environmental, economic, social, and health impacts are currently unclear. SLR, storms and changing precipitation patterns increase flood risks, in particular in urban areas. Part of the current scientific debate is on how urban agglomeration can be made more resilient to flood risks. Where originally mainly technical interventions dominated this discussion, it becomes increasingly clear that proactive special planning, flood defense, flood risk mitigation, flood preparation, and flood recovery are important, but costly instruments. Next to the main focus on SLR and its effects on resilience, the paper reviews main SLR associated impacts: Floods and inundation, salinization, shoreline change, and effects on mangroves and wetlands. The hazards of SLR related floods increase fastest in urban areas. This is related with both the increasing surface major cities are expected to occupy during the decades to come and the increasing coastal population. In particular Asia and its megacities in the southern part of the continent are increasingly at risk. The discussion points to complexity, inter-disciplinarity, and the related uncertainty, as core characteristics. An integrated combination of mitigation, adaptation and resilience measures is currently considered as the most indicated way to resist SLR today and in the near future.References Aerts J.C.J.H., Hassan A., Savenije H.H.G., Khan M.F., 2000. Using GIS tools and rapid assessment techniques for determining salt intrusion: Stream a river basin management instrument. 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AbstractThe presence of Pygmies in Thrace is neither a misunderstanding nor a fantasy of Pliny the Elder: this reference, confirmed by Stephanus of Byzantium, can be explained through the history of the Pygmies, mythic people mentioned in theIliadand integrated in the Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Medieval and Renaissance descriptions of the inhabited world. The modern historian can reveal the reasons that made the Greeks and Romans locate these little men in the northern country of the cranes: the indigenous, under-earth houses of Dobrodgea and the abandoned caves in the region of Yailata as well as the Greek toponymy imported from the Aegean nourished the imagination of the Greeks and their stories about the Euxine Pontus, colonized by Milesians and Megarians. These observations contribute not only to a better understanding of the geography and ethnography of the western Black Sea coast, but also throw light on the process of “inventing” foreign peoples, at the center but also at the periphery of the civilized world, on the basis of racial, geographic and historical otherness, by taking into account the everlasting authority of the literary tradition.

Abstract. The present study deals with the implementation of an eddy resolving model of the Levantine and Aegean basins and its one-way nesting with a coarse resolution (1/8° × 1/8°) global Mediterranean general circulation model. The modelling effort is done within the framework of the Mediterranean Forecasting System Pilot Project as an initiative towards real-time forecasting within the eastern Mediterranean region. The performed climatological runs of the nested model have shown very promising results on the ability of the model to capture correctly the complex dynamics of the area and at the same time to demonstrate the skill and robustness of the nesting technique applied. A second aim of this study is to prepare a comprehensive climatological surface boundary conditions data set for the Mediterranean Sea. This data set has been developed within the framework of the same research project and is suitable for use in ocean circulation models of the Mediterranean Sea or parts of it. The computation is based on the ECMWF 6-h atmospheric parameters for the period 1979–1993 and a calibrated set of momentum and heat flux bulk formulae resulted from previous studies for the Mediterranean region. Key words. Oceanography: general (numerical modelling); physical (general circulation; air-sea interactions)

The foreseeable acceleration of global sea level rise could potentially pose a major threat to the natural charm and functional integrity of the world-renowned tourist coastal attractions of Rhodes Island, as a result of the anticipated increasing frequency of flooding and erosion events. Hence, this study aims to determine the most vulnerable segments (in terms of physical impact) of the Rhodes coastline through the widely accepted coastal vulnerability index (CVI), applying a combination of well-known, broadly used approaches and methods. The frequency distribution of the current CVI along the island’s coastline suggests a rather worrying high to very high vulnerability of 40%. In addition, a CVI projection to the end of the 21st century (based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predictive scenarios) indicates an enhancement of the total vulnerability by 48%, mainly focused on the majority of the western coastline. Hence, a considerable number of popular coastal destinations in the island shall remain under unignorable threat and, therefore, coastal managers and decision-makers need to hatch an integrated plan to minimize economic and natural losses, private property damage and tourism infrastructure deterioration from flooding and erosion episodes, which will most likely be intensified in the future.

Abstract. This paper investigates the precipitation types and background physical mechanisms of extreme precipitation events (EPEs) over western Turkey during the period 2006–2015. The EPEs are described as the precipitation values above the 90th percentile obtained from the hourly precipitation dataset, which has high spatial resolution. Precipitation types associated with EPEs are identified by using radar outputs and the Lamb weather type (LWT) approach. It is found that EPEs occurred more frequently in the Marmara and Aegean regions during autumn and winter months. In Marmara, mainly 21 %, 17 %, and 15 % of total autumn EPEs show convective, cyclonic, and sea-effect precipitation characteristics, respectively. While convective EPEs are seen more commonly in the southern portions, cyclonic and sea-effect-originated EPEs mainly affect the southwest and northeastern parts of Marmara. Among these three precipitation types, convective mechanisms generally produce more intense daily precipitation (66.1 mm on average) in the Marmara Region under the proper synoptic conditions (high-pressure center over the Balkan Peninsula and low-pressure center over the eastern Mediterranean). Based on the hourly observations, convective types of extreme precipitation (EP) show two peak values during afternoon and evening times of the day and are linked to diurnal heating. In terms of the Aegean Region, cyclone-originated EP, which includes 65 % of the total winter EPEs, is more common in the whole territory and reaches its peak value during the early hours of the day.

One of the biggest challenges of our time is climate change. Every day, at different places of the world, the planet sends alarming messages about the enormous transformations it is experiencing due to human-based activities. The latter are responsible for changing weather patterns that threaten food production, energy production and energy consumption, the desertification of land, the displacement of people and animals because of food and water shortages due to the reductions in rainfall, natural disasters and rising sea levels. The effects of climate change affect us all, and if drastic measures are not considered in a timely manner, it will be more difficult and costly to adapt to the aforementioned effects in the future. Considering this context, the aim of this work is to implement a prospective study/structural analysis to the identified sectors of a regional plan of adaptation to climate change so as to promote the resilience of the region against the negative phenomena generated by the climate crisis. This was achieved in two steps: first, we identified the relationships between the strategic sectors of the plan and organized them in order of importance. Second, we assessed the effectiveness of several public policies oriented towards a city’s resilience according to their impact upon the strategic sectors of the plan and the co-benefits generated by their implementation for society. The results highlight that the most essential sectors for the mitigation of climate change are flood risk management, built environment, forest ecosystem management, human health, tourism and rise in sea level. As a consequence, the most important measures for the resilience of the North Aegean Region against climate change are the ones related to the preparation of strategic master plans for flood protection projects.

Abstract. The paper provides a basin-scale assessment of the spatiotemporal distribution of alkalinity in the Mediterranean Sea. The assessment is made by integrating the available observations into a 3-D transport–biogeochemical model. The results indicate the presence of complex spatial patterns: a marked west-to-east surface gradient of alkalinity is coupled to secondary negative gradients: (1) from marginal seas (Adriatic and Aegean Sea) to the eastern Mediterranean Sea and (2) from north to south in the western region. The west–east gradient is related to the mixing of Atlantic water entering from the Strait of Gibraltar with the high-alkaline water of the eastern sub-basins, which is correlated to the positive surface flux of evaporation minus precipitation. The north-to-south gradients are related to the terrestrial input and to the input of the Black Sea water through the Dardanelles. In the surface layers, alkalinity has a relevant seasonal cycle (up to 40 μmol kg−1) that is driven by physical processes (seasonal cycle of evaporation and vertical mixing) and, to a minor extent, by biological processes. A comparison of alkalinity vs. salinity indicates that different regions present different relationships: in regions of freshwater influence, the two quantities are negatively correlated due to riverine alkalinity input, whereas they are positively correlated in open sea areas of the Mediterranean Sea.

The lack of understanding and definitional inconsistencies regarding agritourism and the importance of cooperation in sustaining this kind of tourism are underlined in the literature. This study analyzes the perceptions of agritourism and cooperation from actors in the sector using a plurality of methods, including unsupervised (a) text mining and (b) sentiment analysis with the use of a lexical database, as well as (c) supervised qualitative data analysis. Based on the assumption that destinations with different geographic characteristics have different features and products, two different destinations as for its accessibility and tourism recognition were selected for comparison: (a) an island—Lesvos in the North Aegean Sea, and (b) a continental mountain region—Plastiras Lake, in Greece. The data were collected from personal in-depth interviews and with the use of semi-structured questionnaires. From a methodological perspective, all three methods provided unique insights on the study’s themes, and the overall image of agritourism and cooperation was positive. A common understanding seems important for cooperation and networking; however, training is needed not only for effective promotion of agritourism, but also for cooperation techniques, benefits, trust-building mechanisms and best practices.

Abstract The Aral Sea crisis has gained global notoriety as a human-induced environmental disaster. This paper contextualizes this crisis within a broad geographical framework. Three interpretations of a single photographic image emblematic of the desiccation of the Aral Sea are related to general foci within the academic discipline of geography. These interpretations serve to guide a framing of the Aral Sea crisis within a geographical context. This is presented as a geographical problem, incorporating elements and processes salient to physical geography, human geography, and human-environment interaction. With ecological and societal sustainability in the immediate Aral Sea region still a pressing concern, geographers are well positioned to contribute relevant, research-driven insights.

Sea level rise is one of the potential consequences of human induced global climate change, and coastal zones, together with their inhabitants, may be becoming more susceptible and vulnerable to such external shocks and related damage impacts. Global, regional, and national scale studies have been undertaken in an attempt to assess the future threat posed by sea level rise. To date none of these studies have fully encompassed the relationship between the physical change impacts and the socioeconomic implications. The authors utilise both a ‘GDP-at-risk’ and an economic cost—benefit approach, in combination with biophysical analysis, to model the impacts of sea level rise along the East Anglian coastline of eastern England. The economic results indicate that for most sea-level-rise predictions the protect strategy is economically justifiable on a region-wide basis. At a more localised scale a combination of response options, including ‘do nothing and retreat’, may be optimal.

This thesis argues that henges, stone circles and ring cairns form a 'spectrum' of monuments with origins in the earlier Neolithic. In that context it is suggested that some of the structures located beneath long cairns were originally free standing foci. How the monuments might reflect contemporary society is discussed and it is shown that some standing stones might have been the focus for gatherings of people as large as those suggested for henges and stone circles. Evidence is presented showing that there appears to have been a continuity of traditions and world view from the Early Neolithic into the Late Neolithic and beyond. Similarly the distribution of later monuments appears to relate to Early Neolithic core areas which continued to be important and linked to 'status'. The relationship of the monuments to particular aspects of the environment is explored and it is shown that wetland environments, including floodplains, are a major feature in the location of the early foci. It is concluded that these would have been important resource areas in the Mesolithic as well as Early Neolithic with implications for our understanding of the Mesolithic -Neolithic transition.

Storms can be both destructive and valuable at the same time. They expose coastal areas to various risks but can also enhance the supply of wind energy and provide marine ecosystems with oxygen rich water. As the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is known to have a significant impact on the wind climate in Europe, investigating its interconnection to storm frequency and intensity under global warming circumstances in the Northern Baltic Sea region was of interest in this study. Wind speed data series of annual storm counts were obtained from five meteorological stations along with PC-based NAO values over the period 1960-2017. The data series were analysed in Microsoft Excel and modelled using a Poisson regression or negative binomial regression model in SPSS Statistics. The results display an unsystematic spatial pattern both in the association to the NAO as well as in the overall storm frequency. However, storm (≥ 21 m s-1) frequency has generally been decreasing, whereas the proportion of severe storms (≥ 24 m s-1) has slightly been increasing, suggesting a tendency toward stronger but fewer storms. Even though only certain data series display statistically significant findings (p ≤ .05), a majority of the winter storms and severe winter storms display a positive association, indicating that a higher NAOI is related to a greater number of winter storms. The spatial and temporal variability in the obtained results can partially be explained by storm tracks and prevalent wind directions. Nevertheless, inhomogeneities do presumably affect the wind speed observations through internal and external influences and changes related to the meteorological stations. Future research should, therefore, also consider integrating other storm related parameters, such as direct air pressure measurements, wave heights and storm surges, as well as implement different data homogenization methods and techniques.

Several scientific articles were mainly reviewed from Umeå’ s university database in order to determine the distribution, degree of contamination, and the sources of 7 selected heavy metals (Cr, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg, Ni) in surface sediments along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. The Enrichment factor (EF) was used as pollution indicator to evaluate the extent of metal contamination in all the investigated areas. According to Abrahim and Parker (2008) the EF is defined as the ratio of the determined metal to Al (or Fe) in the sample divided by the ratio of background metal to background Al (or Fe) ratio. According to the results of this study, EF values for Cr, Pb, Cu, Cd and Ni presented an upward trend along the west to east shoreline of the Mediterranean sea, whereas Zn and Hg EF values showed a downward trend along this region. Cr generally exhibited no enrichment in places to the west (EF<1.5) whereas in the eastern side displayed moderate enrichment (EF=1.95). Pb EF values showed moderate enrichment (EF=5) along the western section of the sea, whilst in the eastern part revealed significant enrichment (5.45). Zn pollution levels were minimal (EF=1.6) in places to the west and moderate (EF=2.2) to the east. The enrichment for Cd was considered moderate in the western part of the basin and significant in the eastern section. These heavy metals distribution can be explained by the fact that different inputs (mainly due to anthropogenic activities) from the inshore environment may take place in each area of the sea. However, Cu and Ni presented the same degree of pollution (moderate) in the whole sea, presumably indicating similar Cu and Ni inputs from the terrestrial environment. However, conclusions for Hg were not possible to be drawn as the collected data were not sufficient.

English, Afrikaans and Zulu summaries
While there is increasing interest in the effect of landscape on ancient imagination, less attention has been paid to the impact of restless karst hydrology on ancient beliefs. By identifying shared themes, this study compares and contrasts the way Hittites and Aegean people in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages reshaped peripheral karst landscapes into physical and imagined transitional zones. Karst geology underpins much of the Aegean and Anatolian landscape, allowing subterranean zones to be visible and accessible above ground via caves, springs, sinking streams, sinkholes and other unusual natural formations. In both cultures, certain dynamic landscapes were considered to be sacred porous points where deities, daemons, heroes and mortals could transit between cosmic realms. Evidence suggests that Hittites and Aegean people interpreted dramatic karst landscapes as liminal thresholds and spaces situated between the world of humans and the world of deities. Part One investigates physical zones of transition via the karst ecosystems of rural sanctuaries. Part Two considers the creative interpretation in myth and iconography of karst phenomena into metaphysical zones of transition. The examples reveal the way in which Hittites and Aegean people built their concept of the sacred on the extraordinary characteristics of karst geology. Numinous karst landscapes provided validity and a familiar reference point for the creation of imagined worlds where mortal and divine could connect.
Vandag is daar toenemende belangstelling in die effek van die landskap op die verbeelding van die mensdom in die oudheid - maar minder aandag word bestee aan die impak van die rustelose karst landskap op die mens se gelowigheid in die oudheid. Deur die identifisering van sekere gemene temas, vergelyk hierdie verhandeling die manier waarop die Hetiete en die Egeïese volkere in die Laat Brons- en vroeë Ystertydperke die omliggende karstlandskap herskep het in fisiese en denkbeeldige oorgangszones. Die Egeïese en Anatoliese landskap bestaan grotendeels uit karst geologie, met tot gevolg dat ondergrondse zones bo die grond sigbaar en toeganklik is in die vorm van grotte, bronne, sinkgate en ander uitsonderlike natuurlike formasies. In beide bogenoemde kulture is sekere landskapstonele beskou as heilige en poreuse punte waar gode, demone, helde en sterwelinge tussen die kosmiese zones kon beweeg. Die getuienis van die tyd suggereer dat die Hetiete en die Egeïese volkere die dramatiese karst landskappe as grense of drempels tussen hulle wêreld en dié van die gode beskou het. Deel Een ondersoek die fisiese oorgangszones deur te kyk na die karst ecostelsels waarin plattelandse heiligdomme hulle bevind het. Deel Twee beskou die kreatiewe gebruik van karst verskynsels as voorstellings van metafisiese oorgangszones in die gekrewe bronne en ikonografie. Die geselekteerde voorbeelde dui aan die manier waarop die Hetiete en Egeïese volke hulle konsepte van heiligdom gebaseer het op die buitengewone verskynsels van karst geologie. Numineuse karst landskappe het hulle idees gestaaf en ‘n bekende verwysingspunt uitgemaak waar die menslike en die goddelike met mekaar in kontak kon kom.
Ngenkathi intshisekelo ekhulayo yethonya lokwakheka komhlaba emcabangweni wasendulo, kunakwe kancane umthelela we-karst hydrology engenazinkolelo ezinkolelweni zasendulo. Ngokukhomba izingqikithi okwabelwana ngazo, lo mqondo uqhathanisa futhi uqhathanise indlela amaHeti nabantu base-Aegean kweLate Bronze kanye ne-Early Iron Ages abuye abuye abumbe kabusha imigwaqo ye-karst yomngcele ibe yizingxenye zesikhashana zomzimba nezicatshangwe. I-Karst geology isekela kakhulu indawo yezwe i-Aegean ne-Anatolian evumela ukuthi izindawo ezingaphansi komhlaba zibonakale futhi zifinyeleleke ngaphezu komhlaba ngemigede, iziphethu, imifudlana ecwilayo, imigodi yokushona nokunye ukwakheka okungokwemvelo okungajwayelekile. Kuwo womabili amasiko izindawo ezithile eziguqukayo zazithathwa njengezindawo ezingcwele zokungena lapho onkulunkulu, amademoni, amaqhawe nabantu abafayo bengadlula phakathi kwezindawo zomhlaba. Ubufakazi bukhombisa ukuthi amaHeti nabantu base-Aegean bahumusha imidwebo emangazayo yekarst njengemikhawulo yemikhawulo nezikhala eziphakathi komhlaba wabantu nezwe lonkulunkulu. Ingxenye yokuqala iphenya izindawo eziguqukayo zomzimba ngokusebenzisa imvelo ye-karst yezindawo ezingcwele zasemakhaya. Ingxenye Yesibili ibheka ukutolikwa kokudala kunganekwane nakwizithonjana zezinto ze-karst kube izingxenye eziguqukayo zenguquko. Izibonelo ziveza indlela abantu abangamaHeti nabantu base- Aegean abawakha ngayo umqondo wabo ongcwele ngezimpawu ezingavamile ze-karst geology. Amathafa amahle we-karst ahlinzeka ngokusebenza kanye nephuzu elijwayelekile lesethenjwa lokwakhiwa kwamazwe acatshangelwe lapho abantu abafayo nabaphezulu bangaxhuma khona.
Biblical and Ancient Studies
M. A. (Ancient Near Eastern Studies)

The intricate shores of the Mediterranean Sea twist and turn for some 46,000 km, with three-quarters of their convoluted length confined to only four countries— Italy, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey. Just over half the coast is rocky, much of it limestone, with the remainder encompassing almost every type of littoral environment (exceptions being coral reefs and mangrove wetlands). Such littoral diversity has long made the seaboard of southern Europe, the Levant, and North Africa a fruitful natural laboratory for studying coastal geomorphology and sea-level change. The virtually enclosed sea ensures that wave processes are generally modest and the tidal range is limited (often less than half a metre), a combination that permits observational evidence of many modern shoreline features to be related precisely to mean sea level. Consequently, relative shifts in the position of now relict coastal features can be used to track the rhythms of relative sea-level change and shoreline evolution. Such rhythms have a bearing on several aspects beyond the physical geography of the Mediterranean basin: they inform archaeological reconstructions of the past settlement and exploitation of a coastal zone that has been an important focus of human activity since Palaeolithic times; they provide testing and fine-tuning for geophysical, geodynamic, and palaeoclimatic models for the region; and they set the backdrop to contemporary societal issues, such as future sea-level rise and coastline adjustments to mass tourism, which threaten the long-term sustainability of the Mediterranean littoral. In this chapter, we review these diverse facets of the Mediterranean coastal realm to provide a synthesis of how these shores have evolved into their present-day appearance. The Mediterranean occupies the convergence zone between two major tectonic plates, Africa and Europe, with a third, Arabia, pressing from the east. Caught within the collisional vice of these great plates are several minor plates and crustal blocks, most notably Anatolia and Apulia. The result is a complex network of plate tectonic structures that define the general configuration of the seaboard. In particular, two major subduction systems partition the Mediterranean basin into a patchwork of minor basins and subsidiary seas (Krijgsman 2002; Chapter 1).

The Mediterranean is a landlocked, semi-enclosed marginal sea that spans a maximum of 3,860 km in the west–east direction, and a maximum of ∼1, 600km in the north–south direction. Along its roughly 46,000 km of coastline, the basin is enclosed by mountainous terrain, except for a part of the North African margin to the east of Tunisia. The Mediterranean Sea contains very deep basins, more than 4 km, and has an average depth of approximately 1,500 m. Its only natural connection with the open (Atlantic) ocean is through the narrow Strait of Gibraltar, which contains a 284-m deep sill (at a width of ∼30 km), and reaches a minimum width of only 14 km (at a depth of 880 m) (Bryden and Kinder 1991). The Strait of Sicily subdivides the Mediterranean Sea into a western and an eastern basin. This strait is relatively wide (about 130 km) and contains a topographically complex sill-structure with an estimated average depth of 330 m (Wust 1961), reaching 365 and 430 m in the two major channels (Garzoli and Maillard 1979). The eastern Mediterranean contains two smaller marginal basins, namely the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea. Watermasses are exchanged through both the Strait of Gibraltar and the Strait of Sicily by eastward surface and westward subsurface flows. This pattern of exchange results from a net buoyancy loss in the basins on the easterly side of the sills, primarily due to strong net evaporative loss from the Mediterranean, and secondarily to some net cooling. Deep water ventilation in the Mediterranean is primarily salt-driven, and secondarily temperature-driven. This is similar to the mode observed in the present-day Red Sea, but contrasts with the temperature-dominated mode in the modern world ocean. As such, the Mediterranean deep ventilation might be more appropriately described as halo-thermal rather than with the common term thermo-haline. This offers a useful analogue for world ocean circulation modes in past times with very warm and relatively equable global climates, such as the Mesozoic. Interestingly, the Mediterranean is characterized by periodic, widespread deposition of organic-rich sediments or ‘sapropels’ over periods of several thousands of years, similar (in miniature) to the deposition of ‘black shales’ in the Mesozoic oceans.

According to Imamura (1937: 123), the term tunami or tsunami is a combination of the Japanese word tu (meaning a port) and nami (a long wave), hence long wave in a harbour. He goes on to say that the meaning might also be defined as a seismic sea-wave since most tsunamis are produced by a sudden dip-slip motion along faults during major earthquakes. Other submarine or coastal phenomena, however, such as volcanic eruptions, landslides, and gas escapes, are also known to cause tsunamis. According to Van Dorn (1968), ‘tsunami’ is the Japanese name for the gravity wave system formed in the sea following any large-scale, short-duration disturbance of the free surface. Tsunamis fall under the general classification of long waves. The length of the waves is of the order of several tens or hundreds of kilometres and tsunamis usually consist of a series of waves that approach the coast with periods ranging from 5 to 90 minutes (Murty 1977). Some commonly used terms that describe tsunami wave propagation and inundation are illustrated in Figure 17.2. Because of the active lithospheric plate convergence, the Mediterranean area is geodynamically characterized by significant volcanism and high seismicity as discussed in Chapters 15 and 16 respectively. Furthermore, coastal and submarine landslides are quite frequent and this is partly in response to the steep terrain of much of the basin (Papadopoulos et al. 2007a). Tsunamis are among the most remarkable phenomena associated with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides in the Mediterranean basin. Until recently, however, it was widely believed that tsunamis either did not occur in the Mediterranean Sea, or they were so rare that they did not pose a threat to coastal communities. Catastrophic tsunamis are more frequent on Pacific Ocean coasts where both local and transoceanic tsunamis have been documented (Soloviev 1970). In contrast, large tsunami recurrence in the Mediterranean is of the order of several decades and the memory of tsunamis is short-lived. Most people are only aware of the extreme Late Bronge Age tsunami that has been linked to the powerful eruption of Thera volcano in the south Aegean Sea (Marinatos 1939; Chapter 15).

The intricate coastline of Southeast Asia, and its many islands and island groups—Indonesia alone has over 17 500 islands—contains 32 per cent (91 700 km2) of the world’s shallow coral reefs (Spalding, Ravilious, and Green 2001). While sedimentary regimes appear to restrict reef development in the East China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, the South China Sea, and around the island of Borneo, reefs are well developed elsewhere. Fringing reefs characterize island coastlines, and there are also barrier reefs and, in the deeper waters of the South China Sea and to the east, atoll-like reef structures. Although the region has a distinguished history of reef studies—in which the pioneering work of R. B. Seymour Sewell, J. H. F. Umbgrove, and Ph. H. Kuenen on the Snellius expedition (1929–30) come particularly to mind—the lack of detailed information about many areas remains considerable. The coral reefs, and their associated shallow-water ecosystems, within this region are the product of both historical and contemporary processes. A wide range of hypotheses to explain coral distributions have been proposed. These include the importance of the widespread availability of suitable shallow substrates for coral growth with submergence histories determined by regional tectonic and sea-level dynamics (e.g. Hall and Holloway 1998), the variety of habitats present (e.g. Wallace and Wolstenholme 1998), and the more contemporary roles of high sea-surface temperatures and ocean current circulation patterns, including the dynamics of western Pacific Ocean–eastern Indian Ocean connectivity (Tomascik et al. 1997a). Both sets of controls show wide variation across the region. Thus, for example, geological settings range from tectonically stable platforms to rapidly uplifting plate collision zones of considerable seismic and volcanic activity. Present-day environments vary from equable, tranquil interior seas to cycloneand swell wave-dominated environments on the region’s margins. Added to these controls are the perturbations introduced by, for example, periodic coral bleaching and biological catastrophes (e.g. Crown of Thorns starfish infestations; Lane 1996). Taken as a whole, therefore, the coral reefs of Southeast Asia demonstrate enormous complexity and considerable dynamism. These reef resources are, however, under considerable pressure from large, and growing, populations and economic development.

The Mediterranean is the westernmost part of the global-scale Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt which stretches from Spain to New Zealand. The landscapes of the region have a long and complex history that includes both horizontal and vertical crustal movements and the creation and destruction of oceans. This began with the break up of the super-continent Pangea around 250 Ma, which generated the Tethys Ocean—the forerunner to the present-day Mediterranean Sea. Collision of the African and European tectonic plates over the last 30 Ma led to the destruction of the Tethys Ocean, although a few remnants of its geology are preserved within the eastern Mediterranean. It is the collision of Africa and Eurasia, and the associated tectonics that have been largely responsible for generating the Mediterranean Sea, its subsequent history, and the landscapes that surround it. This collisional history progressively reduced the connectivity of the Mediterranean Sea with surrounding marine bodies by closing and restricting marine gateways. During the Miocene, for example, the Mediterranean basin became completely isolated from surrounding marine bodies in what is known as the ‘Messinian Salinity Crisis’. This period saw major changes to the regional water balance leading to evaporation and draw-down of the Mediterranean Sea. This had profound impacts on all aspects of the physical geography of the region including the climatology, biogeography, and geomorphology and its legacy can be seen across the region today. The more recent Quaternary geodynamics of the Mediterranean have generated an area which includes a complex mixture of zones of plate subduction of various ages and stages (Figure 1.1b). The modern Mediterranean includes zones of active subduction associated with volcanic activity—such as the Calabrian arc—and older zones of now quiescent subduction such as the Betic-Rif arc. There is a wide range of seismic activity associated with these regions from deep (600 km) to shallow (<50 km) and ranging in magnitude up to 8.0Mw (earthquake moment magnitude; a quantitative and physically based scale for measuring earthquakes).

Several physical features combine to make Southeast Asia one of the most distinct and unique coastal regions in the world. The mainland or continental part of Southeast Asia consists of a number of peninsulas extending south and southeast from the Asian continent and separated by gulfs and bays. The world’s two largest archipelagos form the islands of Southeast Asia. During much of the Pleistocene, a large part of the South China Sea was dry land, and the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo were linked to the mainland by the exposed shallow Sunda Shelf. Southeast Asia comes under the influence of the monsoons, or seasonal winds, which have an important impact on its coasts. The region is also a high biodiversity zone, characterized by its rich coral reefs and mangroves. This chapter examines the coastal environments of Southeast Asia in three stages. First, the major elements that make the coastal environments of Southeast Asia distinctive are discussed. The focus is on the coastal processes, as the geological framework and Quaternary have been covered in earlier chapters. Secondly, the various coastal environments in the region (excluding estuaries and deltas discussed in Chapter 13) are described next in terms of their extent, characteristics, and significance, with sufficient examples given to show their variability. Finally, the chapter ends with an assessment of the major environmental problems facing the region’s coastal environments—coastal erosion and rising sea level associated with climate change. Overall, this chapter provides the physical basis for a better appreciation of coastal development in Southeast Asia. The coastal environments of Southeast Asia bear the impact of significant geological and climatic factors. Geologically, the core of the region is an extension of the Eurasian Plate meeting the Indo-Australian and the Pacific Plates and two lesser ones (Philippines and Molucca Sea) with mountain chains trending in a general north–south direction. The island of New Guinea is part of the Indo-Australia Plate. Island arcs have developed along the convergent margins, and many are volcanically active and also associated with shallow to deep earthquakes.

Southeast Asia lies between the continental influence of the rest of Asia to the north and the more oceanic influence of the Indian and Pacific Oceans to the south and the east respectively. While its overall net energy balance is very much determined by its latitudinal position, which is approximately between 20°N and 10°S, the locational factors referred to above largely give the regional climate its distinctive character. Within the broad latitudinal extent defined above, the Southeast Asian region has often been conveniently separated into two sub-areas: continental and insular Southeast Asia. In some ways these sub-regions represent a valid delineation into the more seasonal climatic region influenced by the monsoon system of winds and the uniformly humid equatorial climate. The former comprises Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Viet Nam, while the latter includes Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The continental Southeast Asia experiences greater seasonality, more extremes in both temperature and rainfall, and more pronounced dry spells; whereas the insular parts, termed the ‘maritime continent’ (Ramage 1968), with a much greater expanse of sea than land (the sea area of Indonesia, for example, is four times its land area), have more equable climate. The northern and southern continental interactions in winter and summer and the differential heating due to the asymmetric character of the two sub-regions give rise to the monsoon development (Hastenrath 1991), which, to a large extent, influences the rainfall characteristics of the region as a whole. In a sense, more than temperature variations, this monsoonal influence gives the Southeast Asian climate its distinctive character. Figure 5.2 shows the two monsoon wind systems that affect Southeast Asia. In addition to these annual reversals of the monsoon winds, the seasonal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)—closest to the Equator during the northern hemispheric winter and farthest north during summer—is a significant factor in influencing the monthly weather regime of the region. Being a belt of low-pressure trough coinciding with the band of highest surface temperature, the ITCZ attracts the moist easterlies from both hemispheres towards its trough resulting in uplift of air, intense convection, and precipitation. This whole process provides a mechanism for the transfer of latent heat from the low to the higher latitudes (Houze et al. 1981; Hastenrath 1991).

Whilst about 12 per cent of the earth’s dry and ice-free land is covered by carbonate rocks (limestone, marble, and dolomite), the proportion is significantly higher in the landscapes that border the Mediterranean Sea. These rock types are especially widespread in the northern part of the region and limestones in particular reach great thicknesses in Spain, southern France, Italy, the Balkan Peninsula, and Turkey and in many of the Mediterranean islands. Abundant precipitation in the uplands of the Mediterranean has encouraged solutional weathering of these carbonate rocks for an extended period. The region contains some of the deepest karst aquifers in the world, with many extending deep below present sea level (e.g. Bakalowicz et al. 2008). The regional fall in base level associated with the Messinian Salinity Crisis allowed the formation of very deep, multiphase karst systems in several parts of the Mediterranean basin (e.g. Mocochain et al. 2006). Thus, karst terrains and karstic processes are very significant components of the physical geography of the Mediterranean basin. Indeed, along with the climate and the vegetation, it can be argued that limestone landscapes (including limestone bedrock coasts) are one of the defining characteristics of the Mediterranean environment. Much of the northern coastline is flanked by mountains with bare limestone hillslopes (Figure 10.2) drained by short and steep river systems whose headwaters commonly lie in well-developed karst terrain. Karst terrains are also well developed in the Levant and in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria, while relict karst features can be identified in the low-relief desert regions of Libya and Egypt (Perritaz 2004) (Figure 10.1). Mediterranean karst environments are also associated with distinctive soils, habitats and ecosystems as described in Chapters 5, 6, and 23. The nature and evolution of the karst landscapes across the Mediterranean region displays considerable spatial variability due to contrasts in relief, bedrock composition and structure, climatic history, and other factors. The karst geomorphological system is distinguished from other systems (e.g. glacial, fluvial, coastal, and aeolian) because of the dominant role of dissolution which results in water flowing in a subterranean circulation system rather than in surface channels (Ford 2004).

The Mediterranean regions of the world are defined on the basis of their climate, with a distinct hot, dry summer season and a warm, wet winter (Grove and Rackham 2001; Chapter 3). Spring and autumn seasons are less well defined but often contribute significantly to annual precipitation. Strictly defined in this way, the Mediterranean region is confined to parts of Italy, Greece, southern France, the south and east of Spain (non-Atlantic climate), the Maghreb and Cyrenaica in North Africa, and narrow coastal strips running through the Balkans, southern and western Turkey, and the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, and Israel-Palestine). Outside these areas, climate becomes humid temperate (western Europe, Black Sea), arid (Sahara, northern Arabia), or continental (interior areas of the Balkans, Turkey and Iberia, the Zagros mountains of Iran/Iraq). Even within the strict definition are found subalpine mountain zones, so it is a difficult study region to demarcate absolutely. In a similar vein to the volume by Zolitschka et al. (2000), this chapter extends the scope to important wetlands in some neighbouring regions, and deals effectively with the circum-Mediterranean. Thus, we include lakes Ohrid and Dojran in the Balkans, wetlands of the continental interior of Turkey, north-western Iran and the Caucasus (e.g. Lakes Van, Urmia, and Sevan), the climatically dry Jordan rift valley which includes the Dead Sea, and the subalpine northern Italian lakes such as Como and Maggiore. The Mediterranean basin is geologically complex and has its origin in the progressive closure of the Sea of Tethys during the Tertiary (Laubscher and Bernoulli 1977). Plate convergence between Africa and Eurasia led to a major phase of orogenesis and the creation of fold mountains including the Atlas, Sierra Nevada, Alps, Apennines, and Taurus, and to plateau uplift in Iberia and Anatolia (Chapter 1). These mountain ranges are commonly dominated by massively deformed Mesozoic limestones that now form karst landscapes (e.g. Dinaric Alps; Ager 1980; Chapter 10). Tectonic movement also led to extensive late Cenozoic volcanism, notably in southern and central Italy, the Hellenic arc, Anatolia, and around the Jordan rift (Chapter 15).

Floods are the most common natural hazard in the Mediterranean region and they result in the greatest economic losses. For regions such as eastern Spain, the south of France, Italy, and the west of the Balkan Peninsula, it can be argued that damaging floods are not infrequent and they can be considered a key component of the climatic and hydrological regime (Barnolas and Llasat 2007). The economic and social impacts of flooding are not just a function of the high frequency of large floods, but also of the vulnerability created by various human activities. In common with other parts of the Mediterranean, the regions listed above are characterized by widespread and intensive economic activity as well as high population densities—often in river valleys and on coastal plains—and this combination results in very significant losses following major flood events (Ruin et al. 2008). Floods and severe weather events affect all parts of the Mediterranean, but their frequency and impact are not homogeneous across the region. Between 1991 and 1995 the damage caused by floods in Mediterranean Europe amounted to €80 billion (Estrela et al. 2000). Table 18.1 shows the main flood events that have occurred in the European Mediterranean since 1990. Although high-magnitude wind storms are not as important as heavy rains and floods, they are considered to be the second most important meteorological hazard in the Mediterranean region because of their frequency and the damage caused both inland and to sea traffic. In addition to the wind storms produced by well-known winds such as the bora or sirocco, severe-weather events and storms produced by deep lows can affect the northern and southern parts of the Mediterranean basin. The most catastrophic wind storm in recent years was the November 2001 event that caused over 600 deaths in Algeria and four deaths—and damage put at over €37 million—in the Balearic Islands of Spain. The flooding and wind storms that occur in the Mediterranean and adjacent countries are intrinsically related to both Mediterranean meteorology itself and the marked cyclogenesis recorded in the region (Chapter 3).