Shoreline change detection using DSAS technique: Case of North Sinai coast, Egypt

TLDR

The study investigates shoreline change along the North Sinai coast of Egypt from 1989 to 2016 using GIS and the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS). Shoreline variation was quantified for three zones—El‑Tinah plain bay, El‑Bardawil Lake, and El‑Arish valley—by applying DSAS’s four statistical parameters: endpoint rate, net shoreline movement, linear regression rate (LRR), and least median of squares. LRR analysis shows the western side of El‑Tinah plain bay erodes at −8.17 m yr⁻¹ while eastward currents accrete the bay at +4.28 m yr⁻¹; shoreline advancement west of El‑Bardawil inlet and El‑Arish harbor occurs at +2.7, +8.5, and +6.5 m yr⁻¹, whereas down‑drift beaches retreat at −4.5, −8.65, and −2.9 m yr⁻¹.

Abstract

This study focuses on the shoreline change detection along the North Sinai coast in Egypt using geographic information system and digital shoreline analysis system (DSAS) during the elapsed period from 1989 to 2016. The measurement of shoreline variation is mainly described for three zones: zone I, El-Tinah plain bay; zone II, El-Bardawil Lake; zone III, El-Arish valley. The rates of shoreline changes in the form of erosion and accretion patterns are automatically quantified by four statistical parameters functioned in DSAS namely endpoint rate, net shoreline movement, linear regression rate (LRR), and least median of squares. LRR results elucidate that the western seaside of El-Tinah plain bay has experienced an extremely dynamic feature with an average erosion rate of −8.17 m/year. The littoral drifts have been driven by eastward alongshore currents toward the east side of the bay to be accreted with an average rate of +4.28 m/year. Moreover, the shoreline has progressed west of El-Bardawil inlet (1), El-Bardawil inlet (2), and El-Arish harbor. Subsequently, the corresponding average beach growth rates are found to be +2.7, +8.5, and +6.5 m/year, respectively. In contrast, the shoreline on the down-drift side to the east has negatively retreated, and the corresponding beaches have regressed at rates of −4.5, −8.65, and −2.9 m/year, respectively.