Q COVER ARTICLE

Photonirvachak
Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol. 31, No. 4, 2003

IRS views the Adams Bridge

(bridging India and Sri Lanka)

ANJALI BAHUGUNA, SHAILESH NAYAK AND BEN1DHAR DESHMUKH

Marine and Water Resources Group
Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad - 380 015, India

The A d a m ' s bridge is b e l i e v e d to be conglomerate and sandstone, hard at the surface

constructed by the Lord Rama to cross over to Sri and growing coarse and soft as it descends till it
Lanka. It is situated between 79°27'-79°42'E rests on a bank of sand, apparently accumulated
longitudes and 9°04'-9°09'N latitudes and extends by the influence of current at the change of the
from southeastern tip of the Rameswaram
Island going up to the northwest of Sri Lanka
(Fig. 1). The period of Ramayana is considered
as Tretha Yuga (more than 1,700,000 years
ago). The present study aims at establishing
whether the bridge is man made or coralline in
nature using Indian Remote Sensing Satellite
data.
Ahmad (1972) mentioned that the Adams
Bridge is a coral reef consolidated into coral
rock as a result of reef being killed by land
uplift. In the Encyclopedia Britannica (1911),
the Adams Bridge is also called as the Rama's
Bridge. British India Steam Navigation
Company's steamers established a service in
1838 between N e g a p a t a m and C o l o m b o
through the Palk Strait and this narrow
passage. It describes the barrier known as the
Adam's Bridge which obstructs the navigation
of the channel between Ceylon and Ramnad, Fig. 1, IRS P40CM image (18 April 2002) showing the
consists of several parallel ledges of location of the Adams Bridge.

Recd. June 25, 2003; in final form June 27, 2003

238 Anjali Bahuguna, Shailesh Nayak and Benidhar Deshmukh

monsoon. The Tamil Nadu coast has offshore reefs
in the Gulf of Mannar and narrow fringing reefs in
the Palk bay. These coral reefs have been studied
using satellite data.
IRS P4 Ocean Colour Monitor data of the
period 18 April 2002 and IRS 1D LISS III of 6
May and 21 March 2000 have been used to study
the Adam's bridge. Coastal geomorphological
map has been prepared after carrying out image
corrections and enhancement. The recognition
of features was based on experience with the
Indian coral reefs and the interpretation key
established earlier.
The linear nature of the bridge is well seen in
the IRS P 4 0 C M image (Fig. 2) having spatial
resolution of 360 m. The linearity in the landform is
seen from the protrusion of the mainland up to
Pamban, Rameswaram island, Adams Bridge and
the Jaffna mainland and probably indicates its
association with former shorelines. The offshore
reefs are also linearly distributed as indicated in
the Fig.3, running parallel to the mainland.

Fig. 2. The linearity of the landform as seen in the mosaic image of IRS 1D LISS III
(May 6 & March 21, 2000)

Fig. 3. Adam's bridge comprising small

patch reefs as seen in IRS-1D LISS
III image. Reef crest, Sand cays and
intermittent deep channels are also
clearly observed.
 IRS views the Adams Bridge (bridging India and Sri Lanka)
IRS-1D LISS III data of the region, having
resolution of 23.5 m shows coastal features, which
are typical of small patch reefs, a type of coral reef
(Fig.3). They have reef crest on the southern side
and c r e s c e n t shaped sand c a y s along with
intermittent deep channels between patch reefs.
There are about 103 small patch reefs lying in a
linear pattern, generally of ovoid shapes. They are
found in waters of moderate depth (20-40 m) on the
continental shelves sometimes dotted in random
manner but more often in recognizable belts,
suggesting an evolution from former shorelines
(Fairbridge, 1968).
Sand cays are accumulations of loose coral
sand and beachrock, generally situated on the lee
side of a coral platform where intersecting waves
have a minimum of energy, liable to be washed over
at high tide (Fairbridge, 1968). Orientations of the
sandy cays of Adams Bridge have changed
between 1990-2000. New ones have also come up
and some have disappeared between these periods
suggesting the unstable nature of the cays.
Reef Crest (also called reef edge/reef margin/
reef front) is a flattened, emergent (especially during
low tides) or nearly emergent segment of a reef.
This zone lies between the back reef and fore reef
zones. Reef crest is very distinct in the study area.
It is seen making the southern edge and is not
continuous. White edge indicates the surf-breaking
zone. Similar reef crests have been mapped using
satellite data in other Indian reefs such as Kadmat,
Agatti and Bangaram of the Lakshadweep islands
239
and Krusadai and Musal-Manoli in the Gulf of
Mannar. Reef crests with same signatures have also
been mapped using aerial data in the Great Barrier
Reef (Hopley, 1982). The occurrences of these zones
in the Adams Bridge indicate that the bridge is
made up of coral reef systems.
The study using satellite data concludes that
the Adams bridge is not man-made in nature but
comprises 103 small patch reefs lying in a linear
pattern with reef crest, sand cays and intermittent
deep channels. The linearity of the bridge suggests
an old shoreline from where coral reef evolved.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are thankful to the Director, Space
Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, for giving
opportunity and guidance to carry out this work.
References
Ahmad, E. (1972). Coastal geomorphology of India,
Orient Longman Ltd, New Delhi.
Encyclopedia Britannica, (1911). Britannica
Publications, (http:/www. 191 lencyclopedia.org)
Copyright © 2002 by PageWise, Inc.
Faribridge, R.W. (1968). Encyclopedia of
Geomorphology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science
Series, VIII, Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc.
Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
Hopley D. (1982). The Geomorphology of the Great
Barrier Reef: Quaternary Development of Coral
Reefs. Wiley-Interscience Publication, John Wiley
& Sons, Australia, pp. 286-316.