The application of satellite remote sensing to coastal dune environments: a systematic review

Sandy coasts are dynamic landscapes due to long-term processes and short-term events leading to changes at various temporal and spatial scales. Coastal dune environments are well studied at a ‘micro’ scale, both temporal and spatial, using detailed and costly in-situ surveys. However, understanding their dynamics at medium and large spatial scales is fundamental for coastal management and conservation. This review gathers recent progress on the use of satellite remote sensing to study coastal dune environments at medium and large spatial scales (from beach scale to coastal landscape scale). It is motivated by the increasing availability of satellite data at resolutions which, coupled with other coastal monitoring systems, can be applied to understanding coastal processes at medium and large spatial scales and by the need to investigate the most suitable satellite sensors and remote sensing methods for coastal studies, with a focus on dune detection, characterisation and monitoring. The reader will obtain a range of useful information from practical knowledge on landscape scale sandy coast mapping to discussions on linking plot and landform observations to landscape scale. The outcomes of this review show an increasing availability of suitable satellite data and methods that facilitate the exploration of coastal dune change at spatial and temporal resolutions that were not possible until recently. Some of the benefits and challenges of using a range of satellite products to map coastal dune landscape elements (e.g., vegetation cover, topography), and how this information can be used in coastal management in general, are discussed.