Dynamics of coastal landform features along the southern Tamil Nadu of India by using remote sensing and Geographic Information System

This article reveals an application of multi-spectral satellite data for analysing the dynamics of different coastal landform features along the southern coastal Tamil Nadu of India. An integrated approach comprising visual image interpretation and maximum-likelihood supervised classification has been employed to classify the coastal landforms by using IRS data (during the period 1999–2006). The quality of image classification has been assessed by performing the accuracy assessments with the existing thematic maps and finally the coastal landforms have been mapped. The study reveals that the dynamics of coastal landforms such as sandy beaches, mud-flats, sand dunes and salt marshes along the study area are mostly influenced by the coastal processes, sediment transport, geomorphology and anthropogenic activities. Major anthropogenic sources for the perturbation of beach sediment budgets and a cause of beach erosion along the study area are excessive sand mining, removal of sand dunes, coastal urbanization, tourism and developmental activities.