Assessing Change and Vulnerability of the Guyana Coastline with Multi-Temporal Landsat Imagery and Survey Data

摘要

The rationale for this thesis stems from the vulnerability of the coastal areas in Guyana to the escalating problems resulting from sea level rise. The objectives are to: (i) assess coastline change in Guyana; (ii) develop a physical-based coastal vulnerability index; and (iii) identify variables that influence the personal concern of coastal residents to water-related problems. The extraction of the Guyana coastlines from ten Landsat satellite images indicates spatial and temporal changes in 25 segments of the 128 km coastline of the Study Area. The estimates of the coastal vulnerability index identify segments of the coastline which are highly vulnerable to sea level rise. Education, age, and distance from the coast are the key variables that influence the level of personal concern. The thesis addresses the problem of paucity of coastal vulnerability research in Guyana. This is a contemporary research problem in low lying coastal areas throughout the world.