Chapter 16 - Evaluation of long-term shoreline changes between Rasulpur and Subarnarekha estuary, east coast of India using remote sensing and GIS techniques

Abstract

Abstract The present study highlights the shoreline changes between Rasulpur and Subarnarekha estuary in West Bengal and Orissa, respectively, with a total length of 70.42 km by long-term change assessment. The entire length of the shoreline has been divided into three littoral zones (LZs) to estimate the change rate on a LZ basis. The study uses 11 multiresolution satellite images to complete and calculate the shoreline change rate during the 1975–2018 time periods. Shorelines are marked by the histogram threshold method from Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper), ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper), and Landsat eight image. The change rate has been estimated by the Digital Shoreline Analysis System in the Arc GIS environment. The long-term change rate has been calculated by two different statistics these are End Point Rate (EPR) and Linear Regression Rate (LRR) to obtain more reliable rate of changes. The result shows that the maximum length of shoreline erosion has been found in LZ III and most accretion occurred in LZ I during 1975–2018 time periods. The erosion–accretion zonation map is also prepared by EPR and LRR values. The erosion zone in EPR has been increased after applying the method of LRR. This chapter reveals that most of the erosion zone has been found near estuary areas.