Coastline Detection with Gaofen-3 SAR Images Using an Improved FCM Method

Coastline Extraction from GF-3 SAR Images Using LKDACM and GMM Algorithms

Coastline detection using a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) applied to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery is usually inaccurate due to the inherent noise of SAR data. In addition, the traditional active counter model is sensitive to the initial position of the contour line and requires a large number of iterations to converge to a solution. In this study, we first used the GMM algorithm to segment the SAR images and obtain a coarse land and sea segmentation map. This map is then used as the initial position for a subsequent active contour model. The K distribution was introduced into the local statistical active contour model to better model the SAR image. The Gaussian distribution-based local active contour model and the algorithm detailed in this paper were used to perform coastline extraction experiments on four SAR images. Four GF-3 SAR images with different modes were collected to validate the efficiency of the proposed method. The experimental results show that the coastline extraction methods from SAR images based on the GMM algorithm and the K distribution-based local statistical active contour model (LKDACM) overcame the shortcomings of the traditional active contour model to accurately and quickly detect coastlines, thus enabling the detection of coastline changes.

Spatiotemporal Changes of Coastline over the Yellow River Delta in the Previous 40 Years with Optical and SAR Remote Sensing

The integration of multi-source, multi-temporal, multi-band optical, and radar remote sensing images to accurately detect, extract, and monitor the long-term dynamic change of coastline is critical for a better understanding of how the coastal environment responds to climate change and human activities. In this study, we present a combination method to produce the spatiotemporal changes of the coastline in the Yellow River Delta (YRD) in 1980–2020 with both optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite remote sensing images. According to the measurement results of GPS RTK, this method can obtain a high accuracy of shoreline extraction, with an observation error of 71.4% within one pixel of the image. Then, the influence of annual water discharge and sediment load on the changes of the coastline is investigated. The results show that there are two significant accretion areas in the Qing 8 and Qingshuigou course. The relative high correlation illustrates that the sediment discharge has a great contribution to the change of estuary area. Human activities, climate change, and sea level rise that affect waves and storm surges are also important drivers of coastal morphology to be investigated in the future, in addition to the sediment transport.

Shoreline Extraction in SAR Image Based on Advanced Geometric Active Contour Model

Rapid and accurate extraction of shoreline is of great significance for the use and management of sea area. Remote sensing has a strong ability to obtain data and has obvious advantages in shoreline survey. Compared with visible-light remote sensing, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has the characteristics of all-weather and all-day working. It has been well-applied in shoreline extraction. However, due to the influence of natural conditions there is a problem of weak boundary in extracting shoreline from SAR images. In addition, the complex micro topography near the shoreline makes it difficult for traditional visual interpretation and image edge detection methods based on edge information to obtain a continuous and complete shoreline in SAR images. In order to solve these problems, this paper proposes a method to detect the land–sea boundary based on a geometric active contour model. In this method, a new symbolic pressure function is used to improve the geometric active-contour model, and the global regional smooth information is used as the convergence condition of curve evolution. Then, the influence of different initial contours on the number and time of iterations is studied. The experimental results show that this method has the advantages of fewer iteration times, good stability and high accuracy.

Study on the Coastline Evolution in Sopot (2008–2018) Based on Landsat Satellite Imagery

The coastline is the boundary between the water surface in a reservoir or watercourse and the land, which is characterised by high instability and functional diversity. For these reasons, research on coastal monitoring has been conducted for several decades. Currently, satellite images performed with synthetic aperture radars (SARs) are used to determine its course and variability together with high-resolution multispectral imagery from satellites such as IKONOS, QuickBird, and WorldView, or moderate-resolution multispectral images from Landsat satellites. This paper analysed the coastline variability in Sopot (2008–2018) based on Landsat satellite imagery. Furthermore, based on multispectral images obtained, it was determined how the beach surface in Sopot changed. Research has shown that the coastline keeps moving away from the land every year. This was particularly noticeable between 2008 and 2018 when the coastline moved on average 19.1 m towards the Baltic Sea. Moreover, it was observed that the area of the sandy beach in Sopot increased by 14 170.6 m2, which translates into an increase of 24.7% compared to 2008. The probable cause of the continuous coastline shift towards the sea and the increase of the beach surface is the oceanographic phenomenon called tombolo, which occurred in this area as a result of the construction of a yacht marina near the coast.