Sedimentation Processes in the Tinto and Odiel Salt Marshes in Huelva, Spain

Global warming is a key factor to take into account when a study is conducted on tidal wetlands. Both Odiel and Tinto salt marshes are the major wetlands in Andalusia (Spain). From the mid-1950s to date, the land use changes (LUC) have caused a great landscape alteration that along with the effects of climatic variables and sea wave energy have given rise to a hard impact on the environment. The advent of new image processing procedures and use of high-resolution images from satellites gave precise patterns of erosion. In this work, a new method patented by the author is presented and used to obtain the total cubic meters of eroded soil in both salt marshes. Moreover, the different factors that begin this phenomenon as well as the influence of intertidal processes are discussed. The results show how the greater integration of remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS) technologies, with regression model, was most useful to describe, analyze and predict the volumetric change process in both salt marshes.