Abstract
A study to test the effectiveness of satellite data for monitoring shoreline change is reported, the rapidly changing Rosetta Promontory of the Nile Delta, Egypt, being selected as the study area. Landsat multispectral scanner (MSS) image data in the near infrared (0.8–1.1 μm, 80 m resolution) covering a 15 year period (1972–1987) at roughly 3 year intervals were compiled. These were digitally overlain, registered and differenced relative to the initial 1972 shoreline, and composite changes (erosion and accretion) are mapped. The area studied is one undergoing both aggradation and degradation, depending on location, sediment supply and man-made barriers. It was found that the general trend of the regional processes can be monitored with Landsat imagery due to its repetitive coverage and good spectral contrast of land and sea. Improved satellite imagery with higher resolution should be a valuable tool for complementing traditional shoreline monitoring surveys in easily eroded, lowlying areas such as the Nile Delta.
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