Turkish coasts beauties and challenges

Turkish coasts : beauties and challenges

Turkey is surrounded by sea on three sides, by the Black Sea in the north, the Mediterranean in the south and the Aegean Sea in the west. In the northwest there is also an important internal sea, the Sea of Marmara, between the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, important waterways that connect the Black Sea with the rest of the world.

General Information :

The land borders of Turkey are 2,573 kilometres in total, and coastlines (including islands) are another 8,333 kilometres

Coastlines

Because the mountains in the Black Sea region run parallel to the coastline, the coasts are fairly smooth, without too many indentations or projections. The length of the Black Sea coastline in Turkey is 1,595 kilometres, and the salinity of the sea is 17%.

Mediterrenean Sea

The Mediterranean coastline runs for 1,577 kilometres and here too the mountain ranges are parallel to the coastline.

The salinity level of the Mediterranean is about double that of the Black Sea.

Although the Aegean coastline is a continuation of the Mediterranean coast, it is quite irregular because the mountains in the area fall perpendicularly into the Aegean Sea. As a result, the length of the Aegean Sea coast is over 2,800 kilometres. The coastline faces out to many islands.

The Marmara Sea is located totally within national boundaries and occupies an area of 11,350 square kilometres. The coastline of the Marmara Sea is over 1,000 kilometres long; it is connected to the Black Sea by the Bosphorus and with the Mediterranean by the Dardanelles.

Turkey is focused largely on a variety of historical sites, and on seaside resorts along its Aegean and Mediterranean Sea coasts.

The rectangular shaped country is surrounded on three sides by three different seas. Its shores are laced with beaches, bays, coves, ports, islands and peninsulas.

Turkey has recently become one of the world's most popular tourism destinations

COASTAL PROBLEMS

Coastal Erosion

Eutrophication

Pollution

COASTAL EROSİON :Coastal erosion occurs along beaches and shorelines. Both wind action and water action have important parts in this process and constantly change the boundary between land and water. Coastal erosion takes land away forever from one area to deposit it someplace else.

Things that can Effect Coastal Erosion

Seawalls force waves back to the ocean. These waves take the sand in front of the seawall and deposit it far away from land. The water in front of the seawall gets deeper and makes for bigger waves next to the shoreline, so you always have to build bigger seawalls. The sea will always win this battle because the force of water will always be stronger than any seawall.

Sand replenishment takes sand away from one place to deposit it elsewhere. People built jetties to catch sand which works great for that beach. But beaches down current will erode away because they don't get any sand.

Coastal Erosion in Eastern Black Sea

Region, Turkey

Eastern Black Sea Region, located in the north east of Turkey, has been exposed to severe coastal erosion and shoreline recession for the last 30 years.

One of the most important reasons for this problem is the response of the coast on man made activities. As a result of sand mining by people and municipalities, the coastal balance was broken.

Another important cause is the construction of a highway by filled soil near the shore. The wave energy increases by reflected waves from these slopes and causes a seawardly sediment transport.

Finally, the other important reason for erosion and recession is incorrect site selection, planning and design of coastal structures such as harbours and fishery harbours.

Coastal Erosion in Mediterranean Region

In the Mediterranean region it is particularly acute due to mounting pressure arising from human activities, including poorly controlled mass tourism.

Although erosion in the Mediterranean is in part a natural occurrence that can never be entirely controlled, it can be better managed in order to reconcile human needs with environmental protection.

EUTROPHICATION AND POLLUTION

Eutrophication is an increase in the rate of supply of organic matter in an ecosystem.

Eutrophication is a major problem in most of the European regional seas including the Mediterranean and the Black Sea

More than 50% of the input of nutrients in the Black Sea originates from the Danube river. Eutrophication has changed considerably the composition of fauna and flora in this regional sea. Many of the fish and sea mammals at the top of the chain have disappeared while intruder species increase.

EUTROPHICATION IN THE BLACK SEA

Eutrophication in the Mediterranean appears to be limited along coastal areas.Enclosed bays and river estuaries receive nutrient loads from domestic and industrial wastewaters. Although eutrophication phenomena have been more intense in the northern part of Mediterranean, special attention has to be paid in the southern part as population grows, agricultural and industrial activities develop and national legislation does not seem to be efficient in controlling nutrient enrichment of the marine environment.

EUTROPHICATION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

SOURCES OF EUTROPHICATION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

• Urbanization

• Tourism

• Agriculture

RECOMMENDATIONSMany issues should be addressed, concerning

research on climatic changes, study and conservation policy on marine biodiversity, treatment of sewage especially near big urban areas, application of good agriculture practices even in countries outside EU and careful selection of sites for marine aquaculture units. Due to conflicts in the use of the coastal zone, integrated coastal zone management should be applied. Thus successful physical planning can be better organized so as to combine environmental protection and economic development

prepared by : Ebru Özaydın