Assessing Climate Change Vulnerability in Coastal Ecosystems Using Remote Sensing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55544/jrasb.5.1.7Keywords:
Coastal ecosystems, Climate change vulnerability, Remote sensing, Shoreline dynamics, Vegetation health, Inundation risk, GIS-based modelingAbstract
Coastal ecosystems are among the most economically active and ecologically important in the world, biodiversity, climate control, shoreline protection, and millions of livelihoods of people on the planet. Nevertheless, the complex effects of climate change, such as rise in sea level, frequency and intensity of extreme weather events and ocean warming, salinity intrusion, coastal erosion as well as habitat degradation are increasingly threatening these ecosystems. The vulnerability of the coastal ecosystems is thus becoming a key scientific and policy issue. Conventional methods of vulnerability measurement, relying on the efforts of field survey and local observation, are usually constrained in their spatial domain, temporal coverage, availability, and monetary aspect. In this regard, remote sensing technology offers a viable, scaled, and scientifically sound substitute to the tracking and assessment of effects of climate change on coastal infrastructure.
This paper discusses how multi-source remote sensing data can be used to determine the vulnerability to climate change in coastal ecosystems using a combined spatial and temporal analysis system. Optical, radar and elevation based satellite data is used to follow indicators of critical vulnerability such as shoreline processes, vegetation condition, land cover changes and inundation. This research establishes both progressive environmental changes and instances of sudden disturbance by the use of the long-term satellite archives to enable a holistic view of the ecosystem exposure and sensitivity. The methods of measuring ecosystem responses to climatic stressors include advanced image processing techniques, spectral indices, change detection techniques, and geographic information system (GIS)-based modeling.
The paper also establishes a complex vulnerability model that is founded on the generally agreeable dimensions of exposure and sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. These elements are spatially modeled to find regions of high risk in coastal setting which can be applied in conservation planning, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation measures. The results show that remote sensing does not only increase the accuracy and efficiency of vulnerability assessment, but also contributes to sound-based policymaking by providing timely and objective data on large and often inaccessible coastal areas. Conclusively, the study highlights how remote sensing is of crucial importance in enhancing climate resilience and sustainable governance of coastal ecosystems in a world that is rapidly changing in terms of environmental change.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Jayant Awasthy, Dr. Anita Nigam, Praveen Balasaheb Gandugade, Aniruddha Purohit, Pooja Mailsamy, Chandan Kumar
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