International Journal of Environment and Geoinformatics

157-163

Authors: Aykut Gökbarlas, Murat Gündüz

The purpose of this study is to examine the temperature and salinity variability of the İzmir Bay based on available in-situ measurements between 1996 and 2013 in summer. The analyses were made for the whole Bay and also for the sub-basins of the İzmir Bay namely; inner and outer. The similarities and differences were tried to be revealed. The main finding of the study is that there is a strong increase of temperature during the last 10 years. After 2003, it is very interesting that the temperature increase almost 2°C in all two basins. This trend is greater than global warming which is almost 0.5°C. Although the salinity has decreasing trend in all the subbasins, there is an anomaly in 2007. The salinity increases in this year. The impact of such warming and the anomaly in the salinity on the İzmir Bay needs more investigation.

173-181

Authors: Ayşah Öztekin, Levent Bat

In this study, abundance, distribution and type of seafloor litter were determined in the Sinop Inceburun coast which is the northeast point of Turkey. Study was carried out in October 2014 and proposed methods by Guidance on Monitoring of Marine Litter in European Seas’ published by European Marine Strategy Framework Directive Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter section of seafloor litter adopted the region. Seafloor litter density was found mean 808.74±215.02 pieces per km-2. The amount of litter was found maximum in 34 m depth. When results were evaluated in terms of the type of material plastic was found 95.35% and encountered litter items were mainly composed of plastic bags. The size groups were found generally small than 50 cm x 50 cm in the classification according to the size groups. The data obtained from the study demonstrate that the seafloor in the region have highly littered compared to the other studies in the Black Sea. Marine litter pollution is a growing problem in the world all of the world’s oceans and also the Black Sea. Necessary measurements must be taken to solve this problem.

193-205

Authors: Mustafa Dihkan, Nilgün Güneroğlu, Abdülaziz Güneroğlu and Fevzi Karslı

Coastal urbanization problem was emanated from willingness of coastal living. Urban sprawl is one of the most important coastal problems in Turkey as it is in Trabzon city which is known for its natural and historical assets. In order to ensure the sustainability and ecological continuity of the city, an ecosystem based coastal planning is an issue of high priority. Protection and usage balance of the coastal areas could also ensure transition of the natural values to future generations. Trabzon city has been under severe urbanization problem for the last 30 years due to migration from rural to coastal areas of the city. It is thought that recently completed motorway and its service roads accelerated the urbanization on coastal periphery. Therefore, the problem must be resolved as soon as possible to achieve the good environmental status of the coast in the city. Thus, as a solution, DPSIR framework was proposed for systematic evaluation and documentation of the related critical issues by starting with a questionnaire composed of open ended questions for determination of major coastal problems in the city. As a step forward, the problems are quantitatively investigated and confirmed by using remote sensing techniques and census data compiled from TUIK databases. As a result major drivers were defined as "coastal urbanization", "coastal land filling" and "coastal transportation" for the city of Trabzon. It is recommended that single authority (composed of various specialists) must take the responsibility of coastal planning in the region. Moreover, the rights of the municipalities on the coastal zone must urgently be stopped by applying continues independent monitoring. Finally, taxation and land owning policies have to be revised on coastal areas to balance and encourage alternative city planning strategies.

214-226

Authors: Gülsen Erginal

This study discusses the relationship between tourism and geomorphologic features, climatic comfort and natural vegetation cover in the coastal region from İğneada to Kastro Bay on the Black Sea. From the point of view of climatic comfort, Thermo-Hygrometric Index (THI) values indicate that May, June, September and October are favorable for coastal tourism while in the months of July and August temperatures are too hot. SSI index values indicate that comfort levels prevail for most people in June and September although the weather can be perceived by some people as cool. In July and August, when the temperatures are higher, the climate is comfortable part of the time, but it is rather hot and sticky. Despite climatic comfort conditions not being suitable for long-duration coastal tourism in the Kıyıköy-İğneada area, the floristic richness of the area and presence of longose forests offer many opportunities in terms of ecotourism. There are also numerous lakes and streams presenting unique possibilities for a variety of so-far unexploited tourism activities. Geomorphologically, uncontaminated sandy beaches and coastal spits as well as sheltered bays such as Kastro Bay are among the important assets of the area in terms of coastal tourism.