Abstract

The coastal region of Istanbul has experienced significant coastline changes over the last few decades owing to a rapid increase in industrialization and urbanization. This study was aimed at detecting coastline changes in the coastal region of Istanbul between 1987 and 2007 using remotely sensed data. Two Landsat images acquired in 1987 and 2007 with 30 m resolution were classified with the maximum likelihood supervised classification method. The study area was classified into six land cover classes comprising urban areas, agricultural areas, forest, bare soil, brush/grassland, and lakes/ponds. The study provided an in-depth analysis of the coastal changes in the study area and revealed that the coastlines of Istanbul had expanded by 32 km between 1987 and 2007. From the findings of the study, it can be concluded that the largest variations in the position of the coastline over time occurred on the Marmara Sea coast in the south of Istanbul. Consequently a sustainable coastal management plan should be prepared and put in action in order to preserve the coastal regions.

Key words: Coastline, coastline change, remote sensing, Istanbul.