Quantification of Shoreline Changes along the Entire Indian Coast Using Indian Remote Sensing Satellite Images of 2004–06 and 2014–16

The coastal region of India is highly vulnerable to various threats, including coastal erosion, due to natural processes enhanced by anthropogenic influences. Shoreline change inventories are the pre-requisite for identifying the coastal stretches subjected to erosion. In this study, the shoreline of the entire Indian coast was delineated at a scale of 1 : 25,000 using IRS LISS-IV images of 2004–06 and 2014–16 time frames. The spatial shift between the shoreline of two time frames was estimated in the GIS platform and a database of shoreline changes was prepared. The eroding, accreting and stable length of the shoreline were calculated for the Indian coast along with the area of erosion and accretion. This study discusses the imperative results of shoreline mapping and the status of shoreline changes on the Indian coast. The shoreline changes in terms of erosion and accretion were assessed for 7549 km of the Indian coast. It was found that the coast is eroding along 1144 km and accretion of the coast is along 1084 km, while 5321 km of the coastline shows no changes between the two time frames. The coastal land area lost due to erosion was 3680 ha; however, the increase in land area as a result of coastal deposition was 4042 ha. The regional coastal processes and the associated shoreline changes and coastal issues related to anthropogenic impacts are also discussed in this study. The inventory of shoreline changes has been used to prepare six volumes of Shoreline Change Atlas covering the entire Indian coast. The shoreline change database forms the baseline data for planning any coastal development activity by the maritime authorities apart from the potential use by the scientific community.