Abstract

Pulicat lagoon is a highly intricate transitional environment located on the eastern seaboard of India. The lagoon has undergone a change in size for over thousands of years as a result of natural as well as anthropogenic causes. In this work, long-term lagoon water spread area change analysis was done by using geospatial information available since 1988. Satellite imageries from 1988, 2000, 2008, and 2014 have been interpreted. During 1988-2000, the lagoon water spread area shrunk by 5.65 Km2 (from 340.28 Km2 to 334.63 Km2) with a dynamic degree of 0.14%; between 2000 and 2008, the lagoon water spread area is augmented by 1.93 Km2 i.e.336.56 Km2 with the dynamic degree of -0.07 %; from 2008 to 2014, the lagoon area is contracted by 5.56 Km2 and reached 331.00 Km2 with the dynamic degree of 0.11%. The results confirm that the Pulicat lagoon has undergone major geomorphological changes with a reduction in its areal extent which could have resulted in pessimistic ecological brunt on the environment and individual life and assets.

Keywords: Geographical information system; Pulicat lagoon; Remote sensing; Transitional environment water spread area