Overview

QGIS Shoreline Change Analysis Tool (QSCAT) is a plugin developed for the Quantum GIS (QGIS) freeware. It is patterned after the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS), an ArcGIS add-in. Being QGIS-based, QSCAT is more readily accessible than DSAS. Like DSAS, QSCAT computes the rate and magnitude of shoreline changes for different periods. It can generate commonly used shoreline change statistics such as Net Shoreline Movement (NSM), End-Point Rate (EPR), and Linear Regression Rate (LRR) from a time series of shoreline vectors.

Although the output statistics of this plugin are more limited than what DSAS is capable of, QSCAT has some additional features. In NSM and EPR, a feature can compare any two shoreline vectors by selecting a date for comparison. More importantly, it can estimate the length and areal extent of the eroding, stable, and accreting coastal segments. Such information is essential for coastal erosion studies.