Impact of sea level rise and shoreline changes in the tropical island ecosystem of Andaman and Nicobar region, India
Abstract We report here a four decades of shoreline changes and possible sea level rise (SLR) impact on landuse/landcover (LULC) in Little Andaman Island by using remote sensing (RS) and GIS techniques. A total of six remote sensing data sets covering years between 1976 and 2018 were used to understand the shoreline changes. Moreover, a Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) was used to estimate short- and long- term shoreline changes from ArcGIS environment. Besides, the Island vulnerability due to SLR was studied through using digital elevation model (DEM). As a result of Sumatra earthquake (2004), the results were showed a significant variation in shorline upliftment and subsidence. The land subsidence was noticed in the range of 1042-3077 ha with sea level rise between 1 and 5 m. Hence, we conclude that Little Andaman Island is vulnerable to SLR and overwhelm low elvation coastal zone.