An Example of Coastal Studies from Space and Aerial Photographs

Abstract

Space photographs, when supplemented with aerial photographs, are excellent tools in coastal studies, including shore processes, shoreline features, and their changes. In addition to research oriented studies, space and aerial photographs make excellent teaching tools for geomorphic and related studies among a host of other geologic subject areas. The greatest advantage of space photography is that it portrays large areas of the earth's surface on a single photograph. This provides the investigator with an outstanding tool for studying and mapping regional features and their relationships to one another. Details of the shoreline features can easily be obtained from aerial photographs. Similar to sequential aerial photography, sequential space photography will help in studying rapidly changing shorelines.