Remote Sensing of the Coastline Variation of the Guangdong–Hongkong–Macao Greater Bay Area in the Past Four Decades

Abstract

In this study, a combination of example-based feature extraction and visual interpretation was applied to analyze the coastline variations in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GHMGBA) from the past four decades based on the Landsat satellite remote sensing image data from 1987–2018, using ENVI and ArcGIS software. The results showed that the total length of the coastline of the GHMGBA increased in the past four decades, rising from 1291 km in 1987 to 1411 km in 2018. Among these, artificial coastline increased by 450 km, while the other coastline types decreased. The type of coastline that decreased the most was bedrock coastline, by a total of 172 km. The silty coastline disappeared, and almost all of it was converted to artificial coastline. Variations in the coastline of the GHMGBA were mainly connected to human activities and showed an overall trend of advancing towards the ocean. Dynamic monitoring of coastline variations can provide a reference for the protection of natural resources, sustainable marine development and rational planning of the coastal zone.