Impact of sea level rise and shoreline changes in the tropical island ecosystem of Andaman and Nicobar region, India

We report here a four decades of shoreline changes and possible sea level rise (SLR) impact on land use/land cover (LULC) in Little Andaman Island by using remote sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. A total of six remote sensing data sets covering years between 1976 and 2018 were used to understand the shoreline changes. Moreover, a Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) was used to estimate short- and long-term shoreline changes from ArcGIS environment. Besides, the island vulnerability due to SLR was studied through using digital elevation model (DEM). As a result of Sumatra earthquake (2004), the results were showed a significant variation in shoreline upliftment and subsidence. The land subsidence was noticed in the range of 1042–3077 ha with sea level rise between 1 and 5 m. Hence, we conclude that Little Andaman Island is vulnerable to SLR and overwhelm low-elevation coastal zone.