Establishing an evaluation index system of Coastal Port shoreline resources utilization by objective indicators.

The utilization of shoreline resources is time-varying, establishing an evaluation mechanism of it is beneficial to the port development and management. An evaluation index system was forged in this paper from three perspectives of shoreline utilization, development of economic and traffic location. The synthetic weight was adopted based on the widely-used method of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and information entropy theory combining the subjectivity and objectivity. The score of each index can be derived according to the mathematical relationships established by the quantification method instead of experts scoring. The evaluation index system was validated by the application of Lianyungang port in 2015. Lianyungang port in 2005 was then carried out to compare the variation with 2015. The numerical scores showed the shoreline resources utilization had improved from 5.30 to 5.98 with slight progress. Rizhao port was finally conducted with the score of 6.29 and the differences between two ports were analyzed. The evaluation method can be applied extensively into different ports of different times with generalizability and operability. It will contribute to the sustainability of shoreline resources and provide a scientific basis for the shoreline management and planning. [Display omitted] • The weights of the indexes are derived from the combination of AHP and information entropy which takes the advantages of subjectivity and objectivity • The indexes in the system are quantified, the relationships between the indexes' value and score are established by piecewise functions and probability distribution fitting • The evaluation method can be applied into different ports or different times without the process of experts scoring [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]