Monitoring of the shoreline change using remote sensing and GIS: A case study of Al Hawasnah tidal inlet, Al Batinah coast, Sultanate of Oman

One of the most effective means of monitoring the cumulative effects of natural processes and human activities on the shoreline is to study the patterns of shoreline change over time. An attempt has been made to study the shoreline changes along Al Batinah, Sultanate of Oman, at the outlet of Wadi Al Hawasnah. The previous studies showed that Al Batinah coastline is generally stable except where coastal engineering structures like harbors, corniches, ports, and recharge dams are present. Remote sensing and GIS techniques are widely used in the coastal geomorphology because they provide the best sources to study the long-term shoreline changes. Rapid shoreline changes at the mouth of Wadi Al Hawasnah have been measured using proxy data derived mainly from satellite images from 2000 to 2005. The mouth of Wadi Al Hawasnah is now completely blocked after the construction of recharge dam at the upper stream of Wadi Al Hawasnah and Wadi Bani Umar in 1995. There has been no discharge to the sea after the construction of the dam. Furthermore, beach profiles of this area show erosion close to the south of the tidal inlet and accretion further south. The shorelines in the northwest of the tidal inlet remained stable.