Spatial and Temporal Analysis of the Coastal Urban Occupation Line in The Municipality of Jaboatão dos Guararapes PE/Brazil, for the Period 1974-2016

Abstract

Coastal erosion, a phenomenon affecting a large proportion of beaches around the world, has been increasing in line with population growth in coastal regions. The aim of this article is to study the influence of urban growth on the evolution of the building line along the Jaboatão dos Guararapes coastline. Due to changes in the direction of the coastline, the study area was divided into five sectors, in which spatial analyses were carried out. These show that the greatest advances in the building line occurred between 1974 and 1997 in sectors 5, 1 and 2, which advanced by 287. 27, 250.7 and 246.79 metres inland from the beach. The building line was extracted from aerial photographs and imagery. The evolution of the shoreline was calculated using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS-USGS). The rates were calculated using Statistica. The shoreline, although formed by rigid structures, proved to be highly mobile over time, adapting to the constant changes in the coastline and the anthropogenic pressure exerted on the beach.