Title: Coastal Erosion Risk - Rapid Shoreline Assessment of the Western Mekong Delta Coast
Abstract:Rapid Shoreline changes and movement of sediment caused by erosion and deposition is a major concern for managing the coastal zone in the Mekong Delta in Southern Viet Nam. Such morphologic processes ...Rapid Shoreline changes and movement of sediment caused by erosion and deposition is a major concern for managing the coastal zone in the Mekong Delta in Southern Viet Nam. Such morphologic processes are the result of natural and man induced processes of erosion, summing up to 50 km² of eroded coastal areas in Cau Mau Province, already in 2005. The aim of this paper is to present rapid assessment methods to detect shoreline movement employing the combination of high-resolution satellite imagery and topographic maps. Semi-automated measurements of very high resolution satellite and aerial imagery were integrated with topographic maps to compare shoreline locations during the last decade. Historical changes of the shoreline location have been mapped along a 25 km strip on the western coast of Cau Mau Province. Shoreline positions have been compared to interpret rates of shoreline changes using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System Application (USGS, DSAS 4.1). The presented rapid assessment of the western shoreline shows that minimum 30% of the shoreline is in endangered by strong to severe erosion patterns during the last decade. Measured average change in shoreline position show large variability ranging from + 5.6 m to – 290.1 m net shoreline movement over 2001 to 2009. Coastal erosion risk and abrasion exposure analysis showed 9.8% of surveyed coastlines (equivalent to 2.46 km) are ranked as having a very high erosion exposure risk. Further 31.6 % of shorelines (equivalent to 7.91 km) are ranked as highly vulnerable to erosion and 58.6% (equivalent to 14.63 km) show a moderate or low vulnerability to coastal erosion. According to the presented results a substantial loss of mangrove forests and tidal wetlands along highly dynamic coastlines are caused by sea level rise combined with high erosion energy of tidal waves, storm surges and a significant reduction of sediment deposits by the Mekong discharge regime. The detected shoreline movement poses considerable vulnerability for regional human livelihoods. Rapid assessment techniques combining remote sensing approaches with GIS based cartographic surveys are required to update shoreline maps of affected areas in order to monitor rates of change and suggest areas of urgent intervention.Read More
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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