Permanent Shur River and New Lake Formation: Enhancing Heritage Value or Increasing Risk at the Lut Desert World Heritage, Southeastern Iran

Abstract

Rivers in arid zones are very susceptible to change due to the dry climate conditions, and these changes need to be considered and monitored. The Shur River is the only permanent river in the deserts of Iran and has undergone significant changes. It is also one of the outstanding values of the Lut Desert world heritage. These changes need to be addressed, especially since the Lut Desert was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The study emphasizes the significance of addressing the threats posed by changes in the Shur River. These changes have the potential to have an influence on human safety and infrastructure and also enhancing values of Lut desert world heritage. The present study is based on Library methods, field and remote sensing techniques with the aim of investigating these changes and finding their geomorphic evidence. First, the changes in the river channel in the time series from 2000 to 2020 have been studied, then by emphasizing the behavior of rivers in arid areas, river changes have been identified, quantified and validated based on geomorphic evidence. Additionally, researchers have studied crevasse splays within the Shur River and investigated the formation of young lakes in the Lut desert that were influenced by these effects. The results confirm that the river is highly susceptible to change during the study period and sometimes has shifted its bed in width about 5 km during the study period. Several causes contribute to similar variations in other rivers, but the Shur River is unusual because its kaluts (yardangs) have a substantial impact on the river's large-scale movement and formation of new lake.