Coastal Vulnerability Index Assessment Along the Coastline of Casablanca Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques
Journal
Remote Sensing
Date Issued
October 6, 2025
Author(s)
DOI
10.3390/rs17193370
Abstract
This study explores the potential of Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa) coastlines products for
assessing the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) along the Casablanca coastline, Morocco.
The analysis integrates remotely sensed shoreline data with elevation, slope, and geomorphological
information from ASTER GDEM and geological maps within a GIS environment.
Shoreline change metrics, including Shoreline Change Envelope (SCE), Net Shoreline
Movement (NSM), Linear Regression Rate (LRR), and End Point Rate (EPR), were used to
evaluate erosion trends from 2000 to 2023. Results show that sandy beach areas, particularly
those below 12 m elevation, are highly exposed to erosion (up to 1.5 m/yr) and vulnerable
to coastal hazards. Approximately 44% and 23% of the study area were classified as having
very high and high vulnerability, respectively. The results indicate that remotely sensed
data and GIS techniques are valuable and cost-effective tools for multi-scale geo-hazard
coastal assessment studies. The study demonstrates that DE Africa products, combined
with local landscape data, provide a valuable tool for coastal vulnerability assessment and
monitoring in Africa.
assessing the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) along the Casablanca coastline, Morocco.
The analysis integrates remotely sensed shoreline data with elevation, slope, and geomorphological
information from ASTER GDEM and geological maps within a GIS environment.
Shoreline change metrics, including Shoreline Change Envelope (SCE), Net Shoreline
Movement (NSM), Linear Regression Rate (LRR), and End Point Rate (EPR), were used to
evaluate erosion trends from 2000 to 2023. Results show that sandy beach areas, particularly
those below 12 m elevation, are highly exposed to erosion (up to 1.5 m/yr) and vulnerable
to coastal hazards. Approximately 44% and 23% of the study area were classified as having
very high and high vulnerability, respectively. The results indicate that remotely sensed
data and GIS techniques are valuable and cost-effective tools for multi-scale geo-hazard
coastal assessment studies. The study demonstrates that DE Africa products, combined
with local landscape data, provide a valuable tool for coastal vulnerability assessment and
monitoring in Africa.
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