Use of synthetic aperture radar for recognition of Coastal Geomorphological Features, land-use assessment and shoreline changes in Bragança coast, Pará, Northern Brazil

Abstract

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images are being used more extensively than ever before for geoscience applications in the moist tropics. In this investigation, a RADARSAT1-1 C-HH SAR image acquired in 1998 was used for coastal mapping and land-cover assessment in the Bragança area, in the northern Brazil. The airborne GEMS 1000 X-HH radar image acquired in 1972 during the RADAM Project was also used for evaluating coastal changes occurring over the last three decades. The research has confirmed the usefulness of RADARSAT-1 image for geomorphological mapping and land-cover assessment, particularly in macrotidal mangrove coasts. It was possible to map mangroves, salt marshes, chenier sand ridges, dunes, barrier-beach ridges, shallow water morphologies and different forms of land-use. Furthermore, a new method to estimate shoreline changes based on the superimposition of vectors extracted from both sources of SAR data has indicated that the shoreline has been subjected to severe coastal erosion responsible for retreat of 32 km2 and accretion of 20 km2, resulting in a mangrove land loss of almost 12 km2. In an application perspective, orbital and airborne SAR data proved to be a fundamental source of information for both geomorphological mapping and monitoring coastal changes in moist tropical environments.