Remote sensing and gis applications in determining shoreline and surface water quality changes in Bayelsa state, Nigeria

Abstract

The study of shoreline changes is essential for updating the changes in shoreline maps and management of natural resources as the shoreline is one of the most important features on the earth’s surface. Shorelines are the key element in coastal GIS that provide information on coastal landform dynamics. The purpose of this paper is to investigate shoreline changes in the study area and how it affects surface water quality using Landsat imagery from 1987 to 2016. The image processing techniques adopted involves supervised classification, object-based image analysis, shoreline extraction and image enhancement. The data obtained was analyzed and maps were generated and then integrated in a GIS environment. The results indicate that LULC changes in wetland areas increases rapidly during the years (1987-2016) from 34.83 to 38.96%, vegetation cover reduces drastically through the year which range from 30% to 20%. Polluted surface water was observed to have decreased from 30% to 20% during 1984-2010 and reduced by about 3% in 2016. In addition, the result revealed the highest level of erosion from 1987 to 2016 which is -49.60% against the highest level of accretion of 13.39% EPR and NSM -1400 erosion against 350 accretions. It was also observed that variations in shoreline changes affect the quality of surface water possibly due to shoreline movement hinterland. This study has demonstrated that through satellite remote sensing and GIS techniques, the Nigerian coastline can adequately be monitored for various changes that have taken place over the years.

Key Words: Shoreline, Remote Sensing, Erosion, Accretion, GIS