Monitoring coastal dynamics from space

Abstract

The coast of South Africa is a highly dynamic environment. Tidal influences, seasonal variations and the effects of storm events can rapidly and dramatically change the face of the shoreline. This is particularly true for sandy beaches. Besides the natural forces, humans and their activities shape the coast through the transformation of the natural environment to the sealed surfaces common of urban settlements, crop agriculture or more subtle changes through the gradual degradation of dune vegetation. As a coastal manager, some of the coastal processes have to be monitored over time to decide if, for instance, the retreat of a beach is just a seasonal and natural phenomenon or whether it is an anthropogenically-driven process which requires a management intervention. However, the scale of monitoring is a challenge given the considerable length of the national coastline of more than 3,500km.