Areal Extent of Erosion and Accretion in and around the Gahirmatha Coast, NW of Bay of Bengal by Remote Sensing and GIS Analysis of Multi-Temporal Satellite Imagery

Balabathina Veeraanarayanaa^1*, Kandula Ravikumar², Talluri Ramesh³, Mopada Venkateswararao², Pattam N. Sridhar⁴

¹P.I, SYS-SERC, Department of Science & Technology, New Delhi, India.
²Department of Geology, Andhra University, Waltair, India.
³Department of Geography, Andhra University, Waltair, India.
⁴National Remote Sensing Agency, Department of Space, ISRO, Hyderabad, India.

DOI: 10.4236/ijg.2015.67057                

Abstract

The shoreline morphology change due to erosion and deposition is a major concern for coastal zone management. In the present study, a highly dynamic coast of Gahirmatha on Bay of Bengal  in northeast India is experiencing active erosion, which is mainly wave and tide erosion related hazard threat ending human habitation and sustainability of the coast. In our study, high resolution satellite imagery of time series provided detailed sequence of coastal morphology and their changes in all respects. Comparison study of relative shoreline positions on time series satellite data spanning three decades from 1973 to 2004 covering for the years of 1973, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1998, 2000 and 2004, provided regional changes with accelerated erosion and accretion. The result of the studies have revealed that the areas of severe erosion found along the coast are confined to the promontories of the present day mouths itself of the Baitrani at Dhamra and Brahmani at Maipura inlets. In this background, it is significant to understand the magnitude of factors that are responsible for prograding or retrograding of coast. The present study is an attempt in this direction.

Keywords

Accretion, Erosion, Morphology, Coast, Temporal Satellite Data

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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