Monitoring longterm shoreline changes along Tamil Nadu, India using geospatial techniques

Shoreline defined as the physical interface of land and water is dynamic in nature and provides economic and social security to the coastal habitations. Tamil Nadu having a largest coastline i.e., approximately 1000 km faces multiple threats due to both natural and anthropogenic interventions as a result of disasters, rapid urbanization, industrialization, sand and coral mining etc. In the present study, an attempt was made to elucidate the accreting and eroding sites from multi temporal satellite images of Tamil Nadu coast (1978 to 2014) using geospatial techniques coupled with United States Geological Survey Digital Shoreline Analysis System (USGS DSAS). Rate of shoreline change were demarcated based on End Point Rate (EPR) and Linear Regression Rateof- change (LRR). Wave characteristics and its pattern along Tamil Nadu coast were studied, since it plays a major role in configuration of the shoreline position. Prograding shorelines are noticed at Tuticorin, parts of Chennai, Vedaranyam etc. This study provides a synoptic outlook of the degree of potential threat to the coastal system, to prioritize actions and to develop suitable adaptation measures. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license