HAVE LAND USE CHANGES AND ANTHROPOGENIC MODIFICATION OF ESTUARIES RESULTED IN CHANGES IN ESTUARINE CONVERGENCE IN SOUTH KOREA?

Abstract

Estuaries have played a major role in the movement of people, goods and services, and knowledge, as societies have developed over time. They are crucial ecosystems for storm buffering and biological resources. The health and viability of these delicate systems has become increasingly compromised as coastal development and the construction of anthropogenic structures has rapidly increased over the last three decades. The results of anthropogenic modifications of estuaries can be studied through the change of the convergence length over time. However, this process is mathematically involved and would require a lengthy amount of time. Therefore, the aim of this study is to automate the process of calculating the convergence length, in order to analyze the global change of estuaries quickly using ArcGIS and R Coding Software. The primary focus area will be South Korea, as this area has experienced intense dam construction along its major rivers in a short amount of time. Preliminary results suggest that estuaries have changed as a result of the construction and addition of anthropogenic structures.