Shoreline Changes using Geo-Statistical Analysis

for Selangor Coastal Area

Khairul Nizam Abdul Maulud1, Nur Faaiqah Binti Zainol2, Siti Norsakinah Selamat3, Othman Jaafar4
1Township Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment,
2Smart & Sustainable Township Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment,
3Earth Observation Centre, Climate Change Institute, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment,
4Smart & Sustainable Township Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment,

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia

knam@ukm.edu.my, faaiqahzainol@gmail.com, sitinorsakinah92@gmail.com, oj@ukm.edu.my

Abstract— Shoreline changes have gained a lot of
attention among researchers and other interested parties. It is
considered to be one of the most dynamic processes that are
affected by the ever changing environment. The changes of
shoreline can be analyzed through erosion and accretion from
time to time by the various methods such as remote sensing,
aerial photography, airborne light detection and ranging
technology (LiDAR), video imaging, GPS shorelines and
fieldwork. In this study, the method relies on image
processing of satellite and using ArcGIS software and free
extension for ArcGIS software, Digital Shoreline Analysis
System (DSAS), which enables a transect-based calculation
for the rate of shoreline changes along the coast of Selangor
starting from Bagan Nakhoda Omar until Bagan Pasir. The
area was chosen because of the significant erosion problem
due to the continuous development growth. The main
objective of the study is to determine the rate of shoreline
changes using DSAS to provide statistical value for the year
1993 and 2014. First, the extraction of the shoreline using
satellite image from SPOT 5 and topographic maps are done
using ArcGIS 10.1. Second, the shoreline data from both
years are overlaid and the changes are calculated using two
statistical methods namely End Point Rate (EPR) and Least
Median Squares (LMS). The statistical values obtained are
then used to generate the index of shoreline changes. The
shoreline changes in the study area are classified as critical
erosion with the maximum erosion of 118.53 m/year (EPR)
and 75.82 m/year (LMS). Meanwhile, the maximum
accretions are 70.32 m/year (EPR) and 64.37 m/year (LMS).
Keywords— Geospatial; Shoreline changes; DSAS; End
Point Rate (EPR); Least Median Squares (LMS)
I. INTRODUCTION
The shoreline is defined as the line along which a large
body of water meets the land. Nowadays, shoreline
changes have been addressed as a serious matter
concerning all part of the world. It is categorized as a
dynamic process that is affected by the constantly-
changing environment. This phenomenon can be divided
into two major categories which are the natural occurrence
and man-made. Examples of natural occurrences are wave,
storm, sedimentation and rising sea levels, while the man-
made consists of human activities such as mining of sand,
land reclamation, construction. These issues have gathered
a lot of attention as it gives negative impact from the
aspect of coastal community and environment. This call
for a need of accurate and up-to-date information on
shoreline change magnitudes that enables researchers in a
large range of coastal studies such as erosion-accretion
aspects, coastal defense designing, prediction of shoreline
future positions, hazard zoning, environment protection,
safe navigation and sustainable coastal-resources
management [1].
Advancement of technologies nowadays has
increased the availability of various data resources to
examine the position of the shoreline. However, historical
data for most coastal sites are very limited or non-existent
which leads to uneven data analysis caused by the
availability of data at a specific site. The sampling of past
shoreline trends depends on what is historically available
for the site of interest. This somehow leads to uncertainty
between the data used for a single study as different
sources of data were used. Examples of common data
sources used for shoreline analysis are remote sensing,
aerial photography, airborne light detection and ranging
technology (LiDAR), video imaging, GPS shorelines and
field work
Remote Sensing
Remote sensing is the action of scanning of the earth
by satellite or high-flying aircraft in order to obtain
information about it. The data is collected by detecting the
energy reflected from the surface of the earth. The sensors
can be placed on satellites or mounted on aircraft. Remote
sensors are categorized into two, passive and active.
Passive sensors respond to external stimuli while active
sensors use internal stimuli for data collection. For passive
sensors, natural energy that is reflected or emitted from the
Earth’s surface is recorded. While, active sensors act by
measuring the time taken from the projected laser to reach
the sensor.
In term of coastal applications, remote sensing able to
monitor shoreline changes, track sediment transport, and
map coastal features. The information can be obtained by
using the satellite for the desired time period. This is
because satellites captured image from time to time which
also provides uniformity of the data. Hence, satellite
images have become increasingly important in the
mapping and detection of shoreline changes, especially
because digital imagery in infrared spectral bands is
provided where the water-land interface is well defined.
Other than that, remote sensing data is widely used as it is
compatible to be integrated with Geographical Information

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System (GIS) as it uses satellite image as a base data for
analyzing and extracting reliable and consistent
information [1].
Aerial Photography
High resolution aerial photography is the act of taking
of photographs from an aircraft or other flying objects.
Depending on the type of lenses used, a photograph can be
taken in either black and white or infrared. Conventionally,
photographs during flight are taken approximately three
kilometers (km) from the surface of Earth and referenced
spatially by Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine
the longitude and latitude information.
Aerial photography is taken in a specific interval of
years to monitor the shoreline changes. The magnitude of
changes is then analyzed by comparing the historical
photograph with the latest shoreline photograph. The
photographs contain information on terrain features and
hence enabling the shoreline to be observed and described
with a high precision [2,3,1].
However, the aerial photograph is not common among
researcher nowadays. This is because high cost is needed
for periodic overflights and aerial photograph graph
analysis [4,5,1]. Other than that, aerial photographs must
be corrected before it can be used to determine shoreline.
Among the common distortion are radial distortion, tilt and
pitch of aircraft and scale variations caused by changes in
altitude during the flight line.
Airborne Light Detection and Ranging Technology
(LiDAR)
LiDAR is a technique of remote sensing that is used to
examine the surface of Earth. The data is collected by
measuring the time taken for the projected laser beam to
return to the instruments used. LiDAR enables scientists
and researchers to study the natural environment and man-
made structures with high precision and flexibility. At
present, these technologies have been used to create
accurate shoreline map, digital elevation model for a
geographical information system, and emergency flight
response [6].
Images produced from LiDAR is almost similar to
aerial photograph in a way that both gives out high
resolution images and provide information on the
particular position. Despite that, one clear difference
between LiDAR and aerial photography is that these
technologies can measure the height of the object on the
surface of the earth. LiDAR is often used for its abilities to
scan a hundred kilometers of coastal area in a short period
of time. However, the limited data has complicated the
monitoring of shoreline changes. Other than that, high cost
to update the shoreline has also made it less suitable for
monitoring shoreline in a long-term.
Video Imaging
ITC 2018 (4-5 Oct 2018, Semarang, Indonesia)
The video system is where cameras are installed at an
appropriate location in the coastal area. The cameras are
connected to an automated computer, which controls the
capture and pre-processing of the images. The original
images obtained have to be corrected before shoreline
analysis can be done as they are captured in oblique form.
Location of the cameras plays an important role in
producing images focused on the area of interest.
Observation through video imaging can be used to
monitor the processes and activities at the coastal zone in
long-term. This method has enables continuous images of
coastal are to be collected which reduce the need for
constant field monitoring. This system allows monitoring
of detailed changes of the coastal area along with
providing long-term shoreline change information.
Nonetheless, the system has not used in widely as it
provides temporally dense but spatially limited data sets.
GPS Shorelines
The position of shoreline is obtained by mounting a
kinematic differential GPS on a four-wheel drive vehicle,
which is driven constantly along the visibility line of
interest. Advantages of this method are it can be done in a
short period of time, does not require a high cost and
produce a high accuracy result. The data obtained are also
compatible and can be integrated with LiDAR data for the
purpose of shoreline changes study.
Field Work
The conventional field survey produces a high
accuracy data [1]. The shoreline data is obtained by
interpolating series of coast profile and stored in a map
format. This leads to difficulties for further studies to be
carried out as it does not have the quantitative amount for
sediment transport, erosion or accretion. The field survey
work also caused high costs of labor intensive method.
The availability of different data sources has
encouraged the need for a quantitative analysis of
shoreline changes. The quantitative analysis is
fundamental as a basis for morph dynamics modeling and
for coastal management and interventions as well as
understanding and establishing the processes driving the
erosion and accretion, computing sediment budgets,
identification of hazard zones [7]. Hence, this study used
DSAS as a tool to compute the quantitative analysis for the
magnitude of shoreline changes.
Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS)
DSAS is a software extension to ArcGIS used to
calculate shoreline change statistics from multiple historic
shoreline positions. The nature of the shoreline dynamics
and trends in change can be evaluated and addressed using
the statistics [7,8]. DSAS generates transects that are cast
perpendicular to a specified baseline to calculate the rate of
change which is then linked to a common attribute field. It
is able to provide rate-of-change information and also the
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statistical data to establish the reliability of the results TABLE I. DIVIDED ZONE
obtained [9,10]. Zone Sub-district

In short, DSAS in Historical Trend Analysis can be used in 1 Bagan Nakhoda Omar
broader ways such as: 2 Panchang Bedena, Pasir Panjang
Tanjong Karang, Hujong Permatang, Kuala Selangor,
i. The mapping of historic configurations of shoreline 3
Pasangan, Api-Api and Jeram
position over the period covered by available spatial data
(maps, aerial photographs);
ii. The assessment of historic changes and individual trends
of specific transects (discrete alongshore position).
Within DSAS, the time-series change at specific locations
can be evaluated using DSAS output as the change is
calculated at specific transects;
iii. The analysis of shoreline geometry, including foreshore
steepening using the distance between mean high and low
water marks and orientation;
iv. To forecast the patterns of shoreline behavior using the
derivation of historical rate of change trends as an
indicator of future trends assuming continuity in the
physical, natural or anthropogenic forcing which has
forced the historical change observed at the site Figure 1 Study area and divided zone from Bagan Nakhoda
Omar to Jeram
II. STUDY AREA
Coastal zone plays an important role in our daily life III. METHODOLOGY
[11,12]. It represents 10% of the total earth surface and is Data acquisition
inhibited by 50% of the population. In Southeast Asia,
approximately 70% of the population lives in the coastal In this study two types of images are used to extract the
area evidently in Malaysia as most of the earlier shoreline changes along the Selangor coastal area. SPOT 5
establishments start in the coastal zone area such as Kuala satellite imagery and Topographic map are acquired for
Lumpur, Port Klang, Melaka, Johor Baru and Penang. both year 2014 and 1993. Rectified Skew Orthomorphic
(RSO) is used as the projection system in this study. Table
Malaysia, a country rich with natural resources and 1 specifies the data sources used for the shoreline
biodiversity consists of an area of 330, 803 km2 with extraction.
99.63% land and 0.37% water. The country is divided by
two major parts mainly Peninsular Malaysia to the west
and Borneo Sabah and Sarawak to the east. Peninsular TABLE II. DATA ACQUISITION
Malaysia covers 132, 090 km2 land area while East
Malaysia makes up 198, 847 km2 with 1,200 km2 made up Type of data Year Scale/Resolution
of water such as lakes, river or other internal waters. Topographic map 1993 1: 50 000
Malaysia’s shorelines are separated by South China Sea
SPOT 5 2014 2.5 Meter
and both share similarities that the feature coastal plains
raise to hills and mountains. A large part of Malaysia’s
shoreline is compromised by important industries such as Shoreline extraction
construction, fisheries, tourism, agricultural and major
city/ports which responsible for the huge part in economic The shoreline datasets from the year 1993 and 2014
growth. were extracted using ArcGIS 10.1 software. The data from
both the year are then overlaid to further identify the
The study area is located along the Selangor coastal erosion and accretion changes.
area that covers from Bagan Nakhoda Omar until Jeram.
The shoreline with a length of 116 km is chosen because of
its exposure to potentially catastrophic hazards such as Erosion/Accretion analysis
coastal erosion, flooding and technological hazard [13].
According to Selangor Water Management Authority The shorelines layers were overlaid and
(LUAS), Selangor shoreline has been labeled as critical erosion/accretion rates were calculated at 100 meters
stretches as it is being eaten up by the forces of winds and intervals along the study area using DSAS. DSAS
waves. The study area is further divided into three parts generates 2098 transects that are oriented to the baseline at
namely zone 1, zone 2 and zone 3. The area divided is 100 meters spacing along 116 km length along the
shown in Figure 1 in order to illustrate the result in an shoreline. The statistical method used to calculate the
organized manner shoreline changes rates are End Point Rate (EPR) and

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Least Median Squares (LMS). LMS is used as the method
is considered to be a more robust regression estimator that
minimizes the influences of an anomalous outlier on the
overall equation. It follows the same logic as the Linear
Regression Rate (LRR) method but is determined by an
iterative process that calculates all possible values of slope
(rate of change) within a restricted range of angle. EPR is
calculated by dividing the distance the distance of
shoreline movement by the time elapsed between the
oldest and the latest shoreline. Before the calculation of the
shoreline changes rate, a baseline is set up to be 1 km from
the shoreline. Then, transects are cast perpendicular from
the shoreline at 100 meters interval.
IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Rate of Shoreline Changes
The phenomena of shoreline changes occur as two
events either as erosion or accretion. Erosion is described as
a process of the gradual destruction from activities of sea
water, while accretion is the process of material addition
caused by the removal of material from the river. Figure 2
shows the resulted rate of shoreline changes assessed at
each zone with respect to transect plotted.
The result shows a different result in the calculation for
each zone. This is because the calculation of LMS the
median values of the squared residuals is used instead of
the mean to determine the best-fit equation for the line.
The value is then determined by using an iterative process
that calculates all possible values of slope (rate of change).
The method of LMS reduces the influence of shoreline
data points with larger offsets by squaring the offsets and
selecting the median value. Meanwhile, the method of
EPR divides the distance of the shoreline between the
oldest and the most recent shoreline which caused the
higher the erosion/accretion the higher the value
calculated. This also means the shoreline data influences
directly the calculation unlike LMS.
The rate of shoreline changes differs from place to
place due to the process of swash and backwash of
sediments due to seasonal current movements. Hence, the
difference of changes rate on the areas is caused by the
dynamic processes. The rate of shoreline changes in each
zone is further illustrated in figure 3 and table 4. The
obtained erosion and accretion rates are divided into 5
categories as shown in table 3.

TABLE III. SHORELINE CLASSIFICATION BASED ON EPR AND

LMS
S. Rate of Shoreline Change Shoreline
No. (m/year) Classification
1 < -4.00 High Erosion
2 >-3.99 to <-1 Moderate Erosion
3 -0.99 to 0 Stable
4 >0 to <4.00 Moderate Accretion
5 >4.00 High Accretion
Sources: National Coastal Erosion Study, 2015
Figure 2 The resulted shoreline change rate
(erosion/accretion) using EPR and LMS
TABLE IV. MAXIMUM EROSION/ACCRETION IN SELANGOR COASTAL
AREA FROM 1993 TO 2014.
From figure 2, zone 1 has undergoes a severe erosion
with the maximum erosion of 119.53 m/year (EPR) and Zone Transect no. Erosion (m/year) Accretion (m/year)
71.37 m/year (LMS) from 1993 to 2014. This zone has
EPR LMS EPR LMS
maximum shoreline accretion of 28.59 m/year (EPR) and
28.64 m/year (LMS). Bagan Nakhoda Omar has serious 1 1-697 118.53 71.37 28.59 28.64
erosion due to the development of a recreational center by 2 698-1394 65.32 64.45 70.32 64.37
the government in order to attract tourist. The erosion is in
3 1395-3103 96.68 75.82 2.76 2.75
critical erosion as the rate of change is more than 4 m/year.

For zone 2, the maximum erosion values are 65.32

m/year (EPR) and 64.45 m/year (LMS), while the
maximum accretions are 70.32 m/year (EPR) and 64.37
m/year (LMS). Zone 3 has the most erosion with little to
no accretion from 1993 to 2014. The maximum erosion
rates are 96.68 m/year (EPR) and 75.82 m/year (LMS).
While the accretion rates are 2.76 m/year (EPR) and 2.75
m/year (LMS). The erosion is dominant than the erosion in
this zone.

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highest erosion rate and hence classified as the high risk

erosion area.

V. CONCLUSION
As a conclusion, the use of remote sensing and
geospatial technique combined with DSAS will be useful
for monitoring shoreline changes in the long term and as
well as providing a comprehensive view of erosion and
accretion patterns of the coastal area. This study focused
on the statistical method of calculating the rate of shoreline
changes besides generating the index of shoreline changes.
According to Department of Irrigation and Drainage
(DID), the erosion rate at Selangor coastal is classified as
critical erosion with the rate of more than 4 m/year. The
Figure 3 Erosion and accretion rates along the Selangor’s results obtained show maximum erosion occurs at zone 1
shoreline at a rate of 118.53 m/year while the maximum accretion
occurs at zone 2 at a rate of 70.32 m/year. Hence, it is
Index of shoreline changes essential for continuous monitoring of the shoreline for in
order to avoid total erosion of the coastal area. The
From the year 1993 to 2014, the area of erosion is statistical method shall be used in further research as it
6776.52 hectares (ha), while the total accretion area is produced a precise prediction of the magnitude of
632.10 ha. Based on table 5, zone 3 has the highest erosion shoreline changes.
area compared to zone 1 and zone 2, while zone 2
dominates the accretion area followed by zone 1 and zone ACKNOWLEDGMENT
3. The index of shoreline changes is generated using the The authors gratefully acknowledge to the Earth
area of erosion and accretion obtained. The values of Observation Centre, Institute of Climate Change, UKM
indexes are larger than 0.5 indicates that the area is for sharing the satellite data. This study was supported by
experiencing the high rate of erosion or accretion. the research grants of Trans Disciplinary Research Grant
Scheme (TRGS/1/2015/UKM/02/5/3 &
TABLE V. ERODING AND ACCRETION SHORELINE IN
TRGS/1/2015/UKM/02/5/1).
SELANGOR FROM YEAR 1993 TO 2014.
Shoreline Index of shoreline
Eroding Accreting
Zone Length changes
(km)
(Ha) (Ha)
Erosion Accretion
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