Monitoring the spatial extent of coastal wetlands using ERS-1 SAR data

Being highly dynamic by nature due to their changing hydrological regime an d to the encroachment of urbanization, inductrialization and changing patte rns in agriculture, reliable and timely information about the extent, natur e, spatial distribution and temporal behaviour of wetlands is a prerequisit e for their effective management. Optical remote sensing data have been use d extensively to generate such information. In this study the European Remo te Sensing (ERS-1) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data collected during Apr il 1993 were used to study the temporal behaviour of the coastal wetlands o f the Sunderban delta of West Bengal, India. Account was also taken of the Landsat MSS data of 1973. Shrinkage in the wetlands on the periphery of Cal cutta due to the encroachment of urbanization and the development of new is lands in the active coastal zone have been observed over a period of 20 yea rs.