Shoreline change and sea level rise along coast of Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary, Orissa: An analytical approach of remote sensing and statistical techniques

The shoreline is one of the rapidly changing linear features of the coastal zone which is dynamic in nature. The issue of shoreline changes due to sea level rise over the next century has increasingly become a major social, economic and environmental concern to a large number of countries along the coast, where it poses a serious problem to the environment and human settlements. The global effects of sealevel rise on coasts will vary spatially. As a consequence, some coastal scientists have advocated analyzing and predicting coastal changes on a more local scale. The need to predict and manage the potential impact of sealevel rise on coasts necessitates accurate study on micro level. The present study demonstrates the potential of Geospatial and statistics technique for monitoring the shoreline changes along the coast of Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, Orissa, India since such kind of changes stand as a testimony for the past and present coastal environment. In the present study, multiresolution and multi temporal satellite images of Landsat have been utilized to demarcate shoreline positions during 1973, 1989, 2000 and 2009. The Statistical techniques called as linear regression and regression coefficient (R²) have been used for find out the change rate during the period of 19732009. Finally, an attempt has been made to find out any interactive relationship between the sea level rise and shoreline change in the concerned area. The present study demonstrates that combined use of satellite imagery and statistical methods can be a reliable method for analyzed the shoreline changes in relationship to sea level rise.