Shoreline Change Monitoring Techniques: Past to Present

Shorelines are of great importance to coastal engineers and planners. They are the line of action for planning coastal protection measures and act as the first line of defence during extreme weather events. The intensity of a storm on the coast can be estimated by calculating the changes in the shoreline. The prominence of shoreline changes is further stressed in the planning of ports and harbours and other coastal installations. There are various sources of data available for shoreline extraction from field surveys to satellite image extraction. The analysis of collected data is performed using statistical methods of Linear Regression Rate, End Point Rate and Weighted Linear Regression Rate. In this chapter, the various sources of data collection and analysis and the role of remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) in shoreline change studies are discussed using case studies. In addition, the advantages of various shoreline mapping techniques and the errors and uncertainties involved in performing a remote sensing study are discussed.