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Tsunami and tropical island ecosystems: a meta-analysis of studies in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

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Abstract

Tropical islands are special and sensitive ecosystems which are subjected to various disturbances imposed by human activities and natural disasters. A detailed study about the changing landscape scenarios of these fragile island systems induced by various driving factors could be used for setting up measurements in support of conservation and sustainable development projects. The current research is a meta-analysis of the studies carried out in Andaman and Nicobar islands which analyzed the impact of tsunami of 2004 using geospatial tools. Based on the analysis, it was observed that the Nicobar islands were more affected compared to the Andaman islands. The majority of the researchers used pre- and post-tsunami satellite imagery and adopted visual interpretation method to delineate the changed classes. The study infers uplift of land in Andaman (exposing) and subsidence in Nicobar islands (inundation) with severe damage to the coastal elements like mangroves, coral reefs, plantations and in few cases interior forest. The analysis showed there were no records of the damage for some small islands. Finally, it is concluded that utility of microwave satellite data for change analysis will prove better in regions like Andaman and Nicobar where it is difficult to get cloud free optical data because of the high monsoon periods in these islands. It is also suggested that future work utilizing suitable temporal satellite imagery should focus on the extent of recovery of vegetation and other coastal elements which suffer the impact of disaster.

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Acknowledgments

Sincere thanks to Ms. Kirsten Joy Harma, University of British Columbia, Canada, for her linguistic corrections during final editing of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for spatial Informatics, International Institute of Information Technology, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, 500032, Andhra Pradesh, India

    P. Rama Chandra Prasad & K. S. Rajan

  2. Department of Geography, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India

    P. Mamtha Lakshmi & Vijaya Bhole

  3. Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences Group, National Remote Sensing Centre, Balanagar, Hyderabad, India

    C. B. S. Dutt

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  1. P. Rama Chandra Prasad
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  2. P. Mamtha Lakshmi
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  3. K. S. Rajan
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Correspondence to P. Rama Chandra Prasad.

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Prasad, P.R.C., Lakshmi, P.M., Rajan, K.S. et al. Tsunami and tropical island ecosystems: a meta-analysis of studies in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Biodivers Conserv 21, 309–322 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-011-0191-0

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