Mamatha, P.K.; Anil Kumar, A.; Jayappa, K.S.; Mohan, K.G.; Subhradeep Das; Anupama, L.C., and Shaniba, V., 2025. Multitemporal analysis of shoreline changes along the southwest coast of India: Inferences from geological, geomorphological, geophysical, and remote-sensing studies. Journal of Coastal Research, 41(1), 73–82. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208.

In a multitemporal study of the coastal stretch between the Chandragiri and Karingotte River mouths, Kasaragod District, Kerala State, on the southwest coast of India, an interesting relationship was noticed between nearshore geological structures extending from the hinterland and the ongoing shoreline changes. An inferred structural weak plane running across the offshore domain and hinterland along the minor Chittari River divides the study area into two sectors. Seasonal- to annual-scale shoreline changes measured using beach profiles corroborate the results of decadal- to centennial-scale changes observed in remote-sensing data and millennial-scale data observed geomorphologically. On an annual to centennial scale, the shoreline on the northern part of the Chittari River manifests erosion while the counterpart on the southern side exhibits accretion. The results of millennial-scale processes revealed through geomorphology are distinct in the two sectors, where the northern part has characteristic geomorphologic features of a submerging coast, while the southern part has features of an emerging coast. Geophysical studies confirmed the presence of several structural faults and lineaments intersecting at the Chittari River mouth, and structural failures in the recent past along these fault planes confirm that this area is tectonically active. These geological structural factors stand out as the most prominent causative factors in configuring the coastline of this area when compared with other common causes of shoreline changes.