Temporal Satellite Images in The Process of Automatic Efficient Detection of Changes of the Baltic Sea Coastal Zone

Abstract

The goal of the research was to perform tests aimed at assessing possibilities of utilising multi-temporal Landsat satellite images for automatic efficient detection of changes (e.g. accumulation and erosion) of the sea coastal zone. The research database was composed of Landsat satellite images, and standardized NDVI vegetation indexes from the years 1998 and 2015, as well as multi-temporal vector maps and aerial orthophotomaps. The result map of Change detection allowed to locate areas, in which diametrical changes in land coverage took place. Satellite images reflecting the condition of the examined area for twenty years enabled outlining changes of Baltic coastal zone, and then determining the rate and extent of transformations of examined part of coast (erosion and accumulation), and also made it possible to trace the migration of dunes. The analysis showed the range of shifting dune displacement in the years 1998-2015 amounts to ca. 180 m. On the examined section of seashore (32 km), the process of erosion and accumulation was detected respectively on the length of 21 km and 10 km along the coast. The changes of accumulation and erosion of the sea coast are easily identifiable and clearly visible. Properly conducted workflow of processing the satellite images have allowed the rapid and efficient detection of changes coastline, dunes and vegetation.