Monitoring of coastal changes and environmental impacts for the last two decades using remote sensing-a case study in Lingding Bay, China

A series of environmental and resource problems have merged due to the rapid urban development, including the encroachment on agricultural land, land reclamation and silt deposition in rivers. The paper has demonstrated that remote sensing can be used to monitor dynamic changes of the coastal areas, such as coastline move and urban expansion, land use, shoals and deep channels. Remote sensing data from 1978 to 1998 are used to reveal the rapid changes that have taken place in the study area. Geographic information systems are also used to assist planners in the analysis of such changes.