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. 2019 Mar 21;19(6):1399.
doi: 10.3390/s19061399.

A Combined Approach of Field Data and Earth Observation for Coastal Risk Assessment

Maria Francesca Bruno  1 , Matteo Gianluca Molfetta  2 , Luigi Pratola  3 , Michele Mossa  4 , Raffaele Nutricato  5 , Alberto Morea  6 , Davide Oscar Nitti  7 , Maria Teresa Chiaradia  8
Affiliations

A Combined Approach of Field Data and Earth Observation for Coastal Risk Assessment

Maria Francesca Bruno et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

The traditional approach for coastal monitoring consists in ground investigations that are burdensome both in terms of logistics and costs, on a national or even regional scale. Earth Observation (EO) techniques can represent a cost-effective alternative for a wide scale coastal monitoring. Thanks to the all-weather day/night radar imaging capability and to the nationwide acquisition plan named MapItaly, devised by the Italian Space Agency and active since 2010, COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) constellation is able to provide X-band images covering the Italian territory. However, any remote sensing approach must be accurately calibrated and corrected taking into account the marine conditions. Therefore, in situ data are essential for proper EO data selection, geocoding, tidal corrections and validation of EO products. A combined semi-automatic technique for coastal risk assessment and monitoring, named COSMO-Beach, is presented here, integrating ground truths with EO data, as well as its application on two different test sites in Apulia Region (South Italy). The research has shown that CSK data for coastal monitoring ensure a shoreline detection accuracy lower than image pixel resolution, and also providing several advantages: low-cost data, a short revisit period, operational continuity and a low computational time.

Keywords: COSMO-SkyMed; Earth Observation; coastal risk; ground truths; integrated coastal zone management; shoreline erosion.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diagram flow of the COSMO-Beach coastal monitoring system.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Selected test sites: Torre Canne and Porto Cesareo, both located in Southern Italy. The optical image is from GoogleEarthTM.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Scatter plot showing the correlation between the mean backscattering coefficient (computed offshore) and the significant wave height measured by a wave buoy (Test Site I).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Coastal type classification over Test site I: rocky and sandy stretches are marked in brown and yellow, respectively.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Segmentation results using thresholding, region-based algorithm and LGDF in the three examined sub-sites (rock coast, sandy coast and artifacts).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Pixels belonging to sandy beach region.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Accuracy assessment of SAR extracted shoreline: (a) Test site I; (b) Test site II.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Organic deposits of Posidonia oceanica along the coastline during SAR acquisition.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Shoreline changes detected from SAR images (blue line for the oldest SAR shoreline, red line for the most recent): (a) Test site I (Porto Cesareo); (b) Test site II (Torre Canne).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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