Shoreline change analysis of Vedaranyam coast, Tamil Nadu, India

The coastal zone is one of the nation’s greatest environmental and economic assets. The present research aims at studying the shoreline changes along Vedaranyam coast using conventional and modern techniques including field sampling, remote sensing, and geographical information system (GIS). The study area was divided into three zones. Dynamic Land/Sea polygon analysis was performed to obtain the shore line changes at different time periods between 1930 and 2005. From the multidate shoreline maps, the rate of shoreline change was computed using linear regression rate and end point rate. Further, the shoreline was classified into eroding, accreting, and stable regions through GIS analysis. The eroding, accreting, and stable coastal stretch along Vedaranyam is observed as 18 %, 80.5 %, and 1.5 %, respectively. Net shoreline movement is seaward, i.e., the coast is progressive with an average rate of 5 m/year. A maximum shoreline displacement of 1.3 km towards the sea is observed near Point Calimere. During the Asian Tsunami 2004, the eastern part of the study area showed high erosion. Sediment transport paths derived from the grain size analysis of beach sediments collected during different seasons help to identify the major sediment source and sinks. Point Calimere acts as the major sink for sediments whereas Agastiyampalli and Kodiakkarai are found to be the major sources for the sediment supply along the Vedaranyam coast. Shoreline change study from field and satellite data using GIS analysis confirms that Vedaranyam coast is accreting in nature.