From land to sea: Land change analysis in the coastal zone of Bohai Bay based on RS and GIS

Land use/cover change in the coastal zone is a new research hotspot. Based on land use maps obtained from Landsat images (1979, 1989, 1999 and 2008), this paper detected the spatial orientation of land use changes in the coastal zone of Bohai Bay with a integrated geographical approach of land type barycenter movement, buffer analysis, land use degree and Shannon-weaver Index. Results showed the barycenters of settlements and transportation land moved east, and land use intensity and diversity have the greatest change rate in the 0~5km buffer zone from coastal line. It demonstrated that the regional developing center is shifting from west (land) to east (sea). All these changes coincided with the rapid urbanization and industrialization in the New Coastal Zone of Tianjin and Caofeidian New Zone. Local authorities should show urgent attention to these changes and their impacts on environment.