Short-time analysis of shoreline based on RapidEye satellite images in the terminal area of Pecém Port, Ceará, Brazil

• Published in: International journal of remote sensing Vol. 39; no. 13; pp. 4376 - 4389
• Main Authors: Duarte, Cynthia Romariz, de Miranda, Fernando Pellon, Landau, Luiz, Souto, Michael Vandesteen Silva, Sabadia, José Antonio Beltrão, Neto, Claudio Ângelo da Silva, Rodrigues, Linara Ivina de Castro, Damasceno, Aline Moreira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Taylor & Francis 03-07-2018; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Accretion; Anthropogenic factors; Area; Beaches; Coastal environments; Coastal morphology; Coastal zone management; Coasts; Construction; Deposition; Digital imaging; Erosion; Geographic information systems; Geographical information systems; Geostatistics; Imaging techniques; Information systems; Methods; Remote sensing; Satellite imagery; Satellites; Shorelines; Spatial resolution; Brazil
• ISSN: 0143-1161; 1366-5901
• DOI: 10.1080/01431161.2018.1457229

Coastal environments are highly dynamic and sensitive to interference and variations caused by the numerous natural and anthropogenic agents. The northern coast of Northeastern Brazil has undergone intense erosion in recent years. However, the construction of the Pecém Port modified the beach and shoreline features differently from the adjacent areas. This article describes using remote-sensing images integrated with a Geographic Information System to evaluate the sedimentary balance and morphological changes observed in the sandy beach area that was affected by the construction of Pecém Port. Two methods were applied to the RapidEye images to quantify the short-time changes that occurred on the coast. The Digital Shoreline Analysis System method showed that the beach width increased west to the port, which was calculated by the Change Polygon Approach determined by intersecting and uniting polygons to estimate the difference between the areas over time. The short-time analysis results showed changing coastal morphology, demonstrating that the anthropic interventions in the region are transforming significantly the natural elements that make up the region landscape. Between 2011 and 2014, the investigated beach stretch of approximately 3 km suffered an accretion process of more than 102,000 m
2
over 3 years. The high spatial resolution of satellite images, digital processing imaging techniques and geostatistical methods were effective in this study, allowing understanding the recent changes in the area.