Applying DSAS tool to detect coastal changes along Nile Delta, Egypt

Abstract

The coastline of the Nile Delta is a dynamic zone in Egypt that is received considerable attention. This region contains many major cities and it also contains a number of economically important harbors such as Damietta, Port Said and Alexandria. This research focuses attention on applying Geographical Information System (GIS) tool to assess prospective changes along the coast of the Nile Delta, Egypt during the past thirty-four years. In this paper, changes to the coastline were monitored using twelve scenes of Landsat images from 1984 to 2018. After the extraction of shorelines from Landsat images, Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) was used to calculate shoreline displacement rate. The results showed that about 44.2% of the study area was under erosion and 45% was under accretion while it was stable at 10.8% between 1984 and 2018. The results illustrated that Rosetta and Damietta promontories are displayed higher rates of erosion than other coastal regions of the Nile Delta. National measures must be implemented to protect the entire coast in threatened areas.