Detecting temporal shoreline changes and erosion/accretion rates, using remote sensing, and their associated sediment characteristics along the coast of North Sinai, Egypt

The variation during 15 years in the shoreline along the North Sinai coast has been determined by analysing TM and ETM true colour Landsat images from 1986 to 2001. The analyses identified erosion and accretion patterns along the coast. The shoreline has advanced west of El Bardawil inlet1, El Bardawil inlet2, and El Arish Harbour, where the wave-induced littoral transport has been halted by jetty construction and beach growth rates are 20,681, 69,855 and 20,160 m²/year, respectively. On the downdrift side of the constructed jetties to the east, the shoreline is retreating and beaches erode at rates of -71,710, -69,968, and -11,760 m²/year, respectively. Sedimentological analyses of beach sediment samples have indicated selective transport of heavy minerals according to their densities and grain sizes. A general correspondence has been found between variation in grain size, sorting and heavy-mineral content of beach sand and the patterns of shoreline changes.