Coastal zone hazards in India: Study based on remote sensing and GIS techniques

Remote sensing and GIS tools were used to study the coastal zone hazards in India. The impact of anthropogenic and biophysical forces on coastal hazards were studied in detail. The high-resolution optical remote sensing data such as IRS, SPOT and Landsat found to be more useful in deriving both qualitative and quantitative information on coastal hazards with limited ground truth. Multidate satellite data and the GIS tools are more essential in coastal hazards assessment. This study concludes that the coastal pollution is a severe environmental hazard in many parts of India's coastal zone followed by shoreline erosion/accretion, seawater intrusion and land use change due to urban expansion and industrial development. The outcome of this study will form useful information for the preparation of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) plan for the important "hot spots" in coastal India.