Stability capacity determination of beach against marine erosion forces in the southern coasts of the Caspian Sea (Babolsar to Noor) is the main target in this paper. By dividing study areas to 14 zones, shoreline displacement rate, land covering deformation and sand dune erosion vulnerability tendency have been measured with remote sensing and the geographical information system. In field monitoring, the geometric structure of the beach was mapped and 42 sediment samples have been obtained

more »

... the beach zone (Berm, shoreline, 0.5 meter depth). Then the beach stability capacity levels that due to several criterions such as: (sediment texture, geometry structure, sand dune accumulation, and land use development and land cover changes) have been calculated by GIS in universal ranking system model (URSM). Results showed that the highest stability capacity rates belong to Talar beach (zone 1) and Arabkheil beach (zone 2) and the eastern part of Mahmoodabad beach (zone 9). By contrast, Mahmoodabad (zone 10) and Noor (zone 14) were the most unstable regions against sea-levels and hydrodynamic forces.