Spatial Heterogeneity of Marine Environment Changes: A Case Study in Laizhou Bay and Its Adjacent Waters, China

Temporal and spatial heterogeneity identifications of marine environment and its changes have great significances in marine spatial planning and offshore pollution control. In this study, considering the integration of marine ecological environment and sea-land interaction, we built a spatialized evaluation model named Marine Environment Change Spatial Assessment (MECSA) to quantify the marine environment status and changes. In MECSA, we applied the geospatial model and the pressure-state-response (PSR) model for processing and integrating evaluation indicators. A case study in the Laizhou Bay showed that the marine environment quality was generally in a declining state from 2009 to 2015. In 2015, the Marine Environment Index (MEI) had decreased by 0.1 compared with 2009, although the two years all reached a ‘Good’ level. The spatial MEI layers of the two years showed a same distribution: the southwestern part was in poorer status, with a fan ring shape gradually getting better to the northeast. The Marine Organisms Response Index (MORI) contributed the most to the MEI. Therefore, future marine environmental assessment and spatial planning should focus on the identification the marine environment with its changes from the perspective of spatial heterogeneity and systemicity. Based on single indicators and comprehensive evaluation results, we can propose spatially targeted policies and recommendations scientifically.