Shoreline Dynamics and Land Cover Transitions at Talsari Sea Beach Using Geospatial and Remote Sensing Techniques

The monitoring of coastal interfaces is crucial due to their susceptibility to both morphodynamical processes and anthropogenic stressors. This research presents a decadal assessment (2014–2025) of the shoreline evolution and Land Use/Land Cover (LU/LC) transformations at Talsari Sea Beach, located in the Balasore district of Odisha. Situated at the dynamic confluence of the Subarnarekha River and the Bay of Bengal, this region faces distinct environmental challenges. The study utilized Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) datasets, processed through ArcGIS 10.8.2, to perform Supervised Classification using the Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC). The geospatial analysis indicates a heterogeneous pattern of coastal change: the eastern estuarine sector exhibits severe erosion with a shoreline retreat of 50–100 meters, while the western sector displays moderate accretion. Significant LU/LC shifts were quantified, most notably a drastic reduction in vegetation cover from 35% to 20% and a surge in settlement areas from 4% to 14%. These findings highlight the critical need for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) to address the dual pressures of erosion and urbanization.