Three digital water level measurement stations were installed in Noshahr Bay, Amir Abad and Anzali Port in northern Iran on Sunday to keep a close watch on the Caspian Sea's fluctuations and its predicted progression toward the shores.
The Caspian Sea waterline is predicted to rise up to 42cm over the next three years, leading to the coastward progression of seawater and a change in the shape of the coastline, an official at Water Research Institute said.
According to Daryoush Yousefi Kebria, head of Caspian Sea National Research Center at the institute, water will most probably advance up to 15 meters toward the shoreline, as it last happened in 1995, IRNA reported.
The sea's water level has been stable over the past two years after a long period of steady retreat by up to 130 centimeters.
But scientific research indicates that the water level will gradually start to rise by up to 42cm in the next three years.
The water progression will be more tangible in the west of Caspian Sea coastline, he added.
"This could be seen as a threat or an opportunity," Yousefi said.
However, intense scrutiny of water level in the other Caspian coastal areas shared with other countries is needed for detailed predictions.
"The data will be needed for planning preventive schemes against possible dangers," the official said.
Based on scientific forecasts, the rise in water level will not last long and will begin to move down again due to climate conditions and evaporation.
Recession a Threat
Gradual water recession in the Caspian Sea has been destructive for Iran's northern provinces that stretch along 800km of the sea's coastline.
The embattled Gorgan Bay, shrinking Miankaleh and Anzali wetlands, troubled rice fields, increased pollution and water salinity are among the devastating impacts of global warming and increasing evaporation inflicting the sea.
Yousefi urged the relevant officials to identify and thwart human-caused water pollution in the Caspian Sea both through direct discharge of waste and inflow of polluted water from feeding rivers.
Besides Iran, among the five Caspian littoral states, Russia owns the longest Caspian shoreline and has played a massive role in decreasing the water level in the sea, through injudicious dam constructions over major tributaries such as Volga River that feeds 85% of the sea's water with 260 billion cubic meters of per year.
Rice production and shipping industry in Russia will be also massively inflicted by the destructive effects of water level fall, compelling the Russian officials to ponder a strategic solution for the problem.
