Hey urban nomads! Today, I’ll continuing with the 2nd part of Middle East’s artificial islands and its environmental impacts.

Summary of on-near-off shore coastal development impacts on the Gulf’s coastal and marine ecosystems

The image above shows a summary of impacts of coastal development, broadly categories into construction & reclamation and runoff/ wastewater. In this post, the main focus will be on the runoff effects.

Harmful Algal Bloom Species (HABs)

Coastal developments such as the Palm Islands in Dubai is facing reduced water quality which increases HABs. An example would be the lagoonal areas of Palm Jumeirah, which have low flushing rates with surrounding open waters – vulnerable to localised oxygen depletion and HAB development (Lavieren et al., 2011). In 2008, a HAB event was recorded in the southern parts of the Gulf but expanded until it reached the shores of Dubai.

This bloom had adverse impact on marine fauna, especially hard coral communities and associated fish fauna. Although the direct cause is not known, research indicated that increased nutrient enrichment due to wastewater discharge, natural oceanographic mechanisms, and the invasion by HAB species, perhaps due to ballast water discharge, were contributing factors (Lavieren et al., 2011).

Red tide along the coast of Dubai

Toxic algal species are now present in many Gulf waters. Many HAB species form cysts which can be inactive in the sediment before emerging into active blooms when favourable water conditions return. Episodic warming events also promote conditions for HAB blooms (Lavieren et al., 2011).

Monsoonal upwelling patterns

The above and previous mentioned impacts are intensified due to climate change. Countries in the Gulf are among the most vulnerable to the potential impacts of climate change. This is due to the monsoonal upwelling system which changes strength and direction when temperature fluctuations occur.

Primary productivity in the Gulf is driven by winds. It is high in the winter-early spring and low during the summer-early fall

Every summer, monsoonal wind direction is reversed and blows from the southwest, cooling the sea surface and causes upwelling which theoretically promote the flourishing of flora and fauna. However, the specific details of how global scale climate change will have regional effects are not clear which means monsoonal upwelling plays a critical role in determining the effects of climate change (Lavieren et al., 2011).

In a study which compares the southern Gulf and Gulf of Oman, the southern Gulf has extreme sea-surface temperatures whereas Gulf of Oman has conditions which are more moderate. Fish that gathered in the southern Gulf are significantly lower in species richness and abundance as compared to the Gulf of Oman (Lavieren et al., 2011). This shows the effects of the monsoonal upwelling on fish species.

Conclusion

In conclusion, economic growth, population growth, and increased utilisation of the Gulf are in fact showcasing a lack of expertise to provide informed and effective environmental management. The lack of expertise is mainly due to ineffective state management as they do not acknowledge that environmental degradation is in fact happening. Therefore, there should be an integration in the various stakeholders so that more awareness on environmental issues can be raised.

References

Lavieren, H. V., Burt, J., Feary, D., Cavalcante, G., Marquis, E., Benedetti, L. S., . . . Sale, P. (2011). Managing the Growing Impacts of Development on Fragile Coastal and Marine Ecosystems: Lessons from the Gulf.