Undocumented historical losses of sea turtle nesting beaches worldwide could overestimate the successes of conservation measures and misrepresent the actual status of the sea turtle population. In addition, the suitability of many sea turtle nesting sites continues to decline even without in-depth scientific studies of the extent of losses and impacts to the population. In this study, multidecadal changes in the outlines and area of Jana and Karan islands, major sea turtle nesting sites in the Arabian Gulf, were compared using available Kodak aerographic images, USGS EROS Declassified satellite imagery, and ESRI satellite images. A decrease of 5.1% and 1.7% of the area of Jana and Karan islands, respectively, were observed between 1965 and 2017. This translated to 14,146 m² of beach loss at Jana Is. and 16,376 m² of beach loss at Karan Is. There was an increase of island extent for Karan Is. from 1965 to 1968 by 9098 m² but comparing 2017 with 1968, Karan Is. lost as much as 25,474 m² or 2.6% of the island extent in 1968. The decrease in island aerial extent was attributed to loss of beach sand. The southern tips of the island lost the most significant amount of sand. There was also thinning of beach sand along the middle and northern sections that exposed the rock outcrops underneath the beach. The process of beach changes of both islands was tracked by the satellite imagery from Landsat 1,3,5,7 and Sentinel-2 during 1972 to 2020. Other factors including the distribution of beach slope, sea level changes, as well as wind & current from both northward and eastward components were analyzed to show its impact on the beach changes. The loss of beach sand could potentially impact the quality and availability of nesting beach for sea turtles utilizing the islands as main nesting grounds. Drivers of beach loss at the offshore islands are discussed in the context of sea level rise, dust storms, extreme wave heights and island desertification.

世界范围内无记录的海龟筑巢海滩的历史损失可能高估了保护措施的成功，并曲解了海龟种群的实际状况。此外，即使没有对损失和对人口的影响程度进行深入的科学研究，许多海龟筑巢点的适宜性仍在下降。在这项研究中，使用可用的柯达航空影像，USGS EROS解密卫星影像和ESRI卫星影像，比较了阿拉伯湾主要海龟筑巢地点Jana和Karan岛的轮廓和面积的年代际变化。在1965年至2017年期间，观察到Jana和Karan群岛面积分别减少了5.1％和1.7％。这转化为14,146 m ²Jana Is的海滩损失 Karan Is的海滩损失为16,376 m ²。卡兰岛的岛屿范围有所增加。从1965年到1968年减少了9098 m ^2，但与2017年相比，1968年，Karan Is。损失多达25,474 m ²占岛面积的2.6％，即1968年。岛上天线面积的减少归因于海滩沙土的流失。该岛的南端损失了最多的沙子。中部和北部地区的沙滩沙也变薄，露出了沙滩下面的岩石露头。1972年至2020年期间，Landsat 1,3,5,7和Sentinel-2的卫星图像跟踪了两个岛屿的海滩变化过程。其他因素包括海滩坡度分布，海平面变化以及风和分析了来自北向和东向两个部分的洋流，以显示其对海滩变化的影响。滩涂砂的损失可能会影响以这些岛屿为主要筑巢地的海龟筑巢海滩的质量和可用性。