Monitoring Spatial and Temporal Scales of Shoreline Changes in the Cuddalore Region, India

Abstract

Coastal zones are constantly undergoing changes in shape and environment due to natural processes and anthropogenic interventions. The study of shoreline change has become a matter of great concern in recent years. The measurement of shorelines is a key factor in coastal zone construction. A shoreline change study was carried out for a 33-km stretch of the Cuddalore coast between Gadilam and the Vellar River. Satellite images (2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015) were taken as an input dataset in a GIS platform. Automatic shoreline delineation was attempted by a masking technique using ENVI software. In this study, the modification of normalized difference water index (MNDWI) method extracted the raster shoreline-based contrast value of coastal pixels and thresholding techniques for segmenting water and land regions. DSAS software and reference digitized shoreline boundary data were used for the analysis of shoreline changes. End point rate (EPR) and net shoreline movement determination showed the northern part of the Uppanar River mouth under erosion (region A to C and E) and sediment deposition at an accretion rate of 7.6. m/year from EPR and 114. m from NSM. The maximum shoreline erosion rate was -. 3.8. m/year from EPR and -. 57. m from NSM. From these attempts and results, a methodical approach for detection and monitoring of shoreline changes on spatial and temporal scales of interest have been suggested. © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.