Abstract
Indus Deltaic Region (IDR) in Pakistan is an erosion vulnerable coast due to the high deep water wave energy. Livelihood of millions of people depends on the fisheries and mangrove forests in IDR. IDR consists of many creeks where Daboo is a major creek located at southeast of the largest city of Pakistan, Karachi. Unfortunately, there has been no detailed study to analyze the damages of sea water intrusion at a large temporal and spatial scale. Therefore, this study is designed to estimate the effects of sea water inundation based on changing sea water surface salinity and sea surface temperature (SST). Sea surface salinity and SST data from two different surveys in Daboo creek during 1986 and 2010 are analyzed to estimate the damages and extent of sea water intrusion. Mean salinity has increased 33.33% whereas mean SST decreased 13.79% from 1987 to 2010. Spatio-temporal analysis of creek area using LANDSAT 5 Thematic mapper (TM) data for the years 1987 and 2010 shows significant amount of erosion at macro scale. Creek area has increased approximately 9.93% (260.86 m2 per year) which is roughly equal to 60 extensive sized shrimp farms. Further Land Use Land Cover (LULC) analyses for years 2001 and 2014 using LANDSAT 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) has indicated 42.3% decrease in cultivated land. Wet mud flats have spread out at the inner mouth of creek with enormous increase of 123.3%. Significant sea water intrusion has increased the area of barren land by 37.9%. This also resulted in overall decrease of 6.7% in area covered by mangroves. Therefore, this study recorded a significant evidence of sea water intrusion in IDR that has caused serious damages to community living in the area, economical losses. Additionally, it has also changed the environment by reducing creek biological productivity as reported by earlier studies over other regions of the world.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Antonellini, M., Mollema, P., Giambastiani, B., Bishop, K., Caruso, L., Minchio, A., Pellegrini, L., Sabia, M., Ulazzi, E., and Gabbianelli, G., 2008. Salt water intrusion in the coastal aquifer of the southern Po Plain, Italy. Hydrogeology Journal, 16: 1541–1556, DOI: 10.1007/s10040-008-0319-9.
Bae, S. W., Lee, K. E., Park, Y., Kimoto, K., Ikehara, K., and Harada, N., 2014. Sea surface temperature and salinity changes near the Soya Strait during the last 19 ka. Quaternary International, 344: 200–210.
Chandio, N. H., Anwar, M. M., and Chandio, A. A., 2011. Degradation of Indus delta, removal mangroves forestland its causes: A case study of Indus river delta. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 43 (1): 67–72.
Chang, S. W., Clement, T. P., Simpson, J. M., and Lee, K. K., 2011. Does sea-level rise have an impact on saltwater intrusion? Advances in Water Resources, 34: 1283–1291.
Felisa, G., Ciriello, V., and Federico, V., 2013. Saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers: A primary case study along the adriatic coast investigated within a probabilistic framework. Water, 5 (4): 1830–1847.
Gaillard, F., Diverres, D., Jacquin, S., Gouriou, Y., Grelet, J., Menn, M. L., Tassel J., and Reverdin, G., 2015. Sea surface temperature and salinity from French research vessels, 2001–2013. Scientific Data, 2: 1–9.
Giosan, L., Constantinescu, S., Clift, P. D., Tabrez, A. R., Danish, M., and Inam, A., 2006. Recent morphodynamics of Indus delta shore and shelf. Continental Shelf Research, 26: 1668–1684.
Hinkel, J., Nicholls, R., Tol, R., Wang, Z., Hamilton, J., Boot, G., Vafeidis, A., McFadden, L., and Klein, R., 2013. A global analysis of erosion of sandy beaches and sea-level rise: An application of DIVA. Global and Planetary Change, 111: 150–158.
Khan, A. E. H., Ireson, A., Kovats, S., Mojumder, S. K., Khusru, A., Rahman, A., and Vineis, P., 2011. Drinking water salinity and maternal health in coastal Bangladesh: Implications of climate change. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119 (9): 1328–1332.
Kumar, S. P., and Prasad, T. G., 1999. Formation and spreading of Arabian Sea high-salinity water mass. Journal of Geophysical Research, 104: 1455–1464.
Liu, W. C., and Liu, H. M., 2014. Assessing the impacts of sea level rise on salinity intrusion and transport time scales in tidal estuary, Taiwan. Water, 6 (2): 324–344.
Lu, C., Xin, P., Li, L., and Luo, J., 2014. Seawater intrusion in response to sea-level rise in a coastal aquifer with a generalhead inland boundary. Journal of Hydrology, 522: 135–140.
Milliman, J. D., Broadus, J. M., and Gable, F., 1989. Environmental and economic implications of rising sea level and subsiding deltas: The Nile and Bengal examples. Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 18 (6): 340–345.
Morton, R. A., 2003. An overview of coastal land loss: With emphasis on the southeastern united states. USGS Open Report. St. Petersburg, 1–29.
National Institute of Oceanography (N.I.O), 2000. The impact of cyclone 2A on the tidal link drain and adjacent areas based on the historical data. National Institute of Oceanography (N.I.O) Report. Karachi, Pakistan, 1–66.
Rana, A. S., Zaman, Q., Afzal, M., and Haroon, M., 2014. Characteristics of sea surface temperature of the Arabian Sea coast of Pakistan and impact of tropical cyclones on SST. Pakistan Journal of Meteorology, 11 (2): 61–70.
Ranasinghe, R., Callaghan, D., and Stive, M., 2011. Estimating coastal recession due to sea level rise: Beyond the Bruun rule. Climatic Change, 110 (3): 561–574.
Smith, S., and Abdel-Kader, A., 2014. Coastal erosion along the Egyptian Delta. Journal of Coastal Research, 4 (2): 245–255.
Souza, A., and Pineda, J., 2001. Tidal mixing modulation of sea surface temperature and diatom abundance in southern California. Continental Shelf Research, 21 (6-7), 651–666.
Vineis, P., Chan, Q., and Khan, A., 2011. Climate change impacts on water salinity and health. Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health, 1 (1): 5–10.
Wells, J., and Coleman, J., 1984. Deltaic morphology and sedimentology, with special reference to the Indus River delta. Marine Geology & Oceanography of Arabian Sea & Coastal Pakistan, TR–424: 85–100.
Werner, A., Bakker, M., Post, V., Vandenbohede, A., Lu, C., Ataie-Ashtiani, B., and Simmons, C. T., 2012. Seawater intrusion processes, investigation and management: Recent advances and future challenges. Advances in Water Resources, 51: 3–26.
Yang, S., Zhang, J., Zhu, J., Smith, J., Dai, S., Gao, A., and Li, P., 2005. Impacts of dams on Yangtze River sediment supply to the sea and delta intertidal wetland response. Journal of Geophysical Research, 110: F03006, DOI: 10.1029/2004JF000271.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Karachi, Pakistan for providing the in-situ data and department of Geography at the University of Karachi for their research input.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zia, I., Zafar, H., Shahzad, M.I. et al. Assessment of sea water inundation along Daboo creek area in Indus Delta Region, Pakistan. J. Ocean Univ. China 16, 1055–1060 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-017-3350-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-017-3350-4