Murali, R.M.; Reshma, K.N.; Kumar, S.S.; Balaji, S.A.; Raju, D.M.K., and Ramakrishnan, R., 2020. Spatio-temporal coastal morphological changes of Godavari delta region in the east coast of India. In: Malvárez, G. and Navas, F. (eds.), Global Coastal Issues of 2020. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 626–631. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.
Understanding the characteristics of coastal morphology is necessary to analyse the causes of its changes and its consequences. The present study focuses on the satellite-derived and in-situ measurement based changes along the Godavari delta region to estimate the changes of the geomorphologic units. Three years (2017 – 2019) of seasonal observations along the coast of Godavari delta with fifteen beach profiling stations were carried out to estimate the volumetric changes along this coast. Out of these 15 transects, three stations, S2(i), S6(i), and S6(iv), experienced dynamic changes. The station at Odalarevu [S6(ii)], near Vainateyam river mouth, has undergone severe erosion, indicating an overall shoreline change of 670 m. The changes near this river mouth eventually eroded the nearby two stations by 25m3/m and 11m3/m in volume, respectively. Similarly, Chirra Yanam [S2(i)] showed a gradual accretion of 46m3/m in the same period. Shoreline change study from 1973-2019 using satellite images show erosion of 300 m near Vainateyam river mouth, 140m in the intermediate station, and 50 m in Odalarevu beach. An erosion of 70m is also noted in Chirra Yanam. These results are attributed to the combination of anthropogenic and the response of this delta region for the regional and global processes. The combination of in-situ and satellite observation gives a better insight into the quantitative estimate of morphological changes and their response behavior.
