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Abstract

The coastal land of southwestern India is characterized by estuaries, lagoons, fluid muds and other land forms. Forty small and medium rivers originate in Western Ghats Hill ranges and drain through midlands and coastal plains before debouching into the Arabian Sea. Another important feature of west coast of India is the monsoonal rains which contribute high river discharges. Further, the wave activity along the coast intensifies, and increases the magnitude of alongshore and across-shore sediment transport processes. During the monsoon, the erosion and accretion patterns and shoreline positions are modified. Further, a unique phenomenon, called mudbanks or fluid muds, evolves which dampens the wave activity and contributes accretion of sediments at some places along the coast. The monsoonal intensity, river discharges, wave and current activity in relation to the erosion, accretion and sedimentation patterns along the west coast of India are discussed in this paper. The study is supplemented by field observations and spatial and temporal satellite data.

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