Sea level rise due to climate change affects beaches, which are a source of high recreational value in the economy. The tourism carrying capacity (TCC) assessment is one of the tools to determine the management capacity of a beach. Pattaya beach represents the character of well-known beaches in Thailand, while Chalatat beach represents the character of beaches that are the focus of domestic tourism. To evaluate beach area this study detected the shoreline position using Google Earth images with tidal correction. The Bruun rule was used for shoreline projection. TCC was calculated by using the beach area, correction factors, and management capacity. The results find that the current effective carrying capacity is approximately 200,000 for Pattaya beach and 49,000 for Chalatat beach. Although the Chalatat beach areas are larger than Pattaya, the effective carrying capacity of Pattaya beach is larger than the effective carrying capacity of Chalatat beach for all situations because TCC is affected by beach areas, correction factors, and management capacity. Because beach areas experience the effects of sea-level rise, protection against future beach loss should be considered for coastal management.

The development of effective coastal adaptation strategies and protection schemes is a major challenge for coastal zone managers and engineers, not only because the coastal zone is the most populated and developed land zone in the world, but also due to projected climate change impacts. A priori knowledge of the so called depth of closure (DoC) is, more often than not, a pre-requisite to understand and model coastal morphological response to wave forcing, which in turn enables the design of appropriate coastal adaption/protection measures. In the absence of long term measurements of coastal profile data, the DoC is often computed using Hallermeier’s formulations or derivatives thereof, for applications around the world. However, there are two major unresolved issues associated with computing the DoC in this way: the accuracy of the wave data required for reliable DoC computations, and the generic applicability of the coefficients used in DoC equations. This study exploits the availability of DoCs derived from multiple measurements of coastal profiles and wave data along the Japanese coast together with wave reanalysis products to evaluate the validity of DoC calculation approaches. Results show that the accuracy of computed DoC values determined using wave reanalysis data is limited, particularly when the spatial resolution of the wave reanalysis data is lower. Furthermore, coefficients of DoC equations proposed in previous and present studies appear to be location specific and points toward the need for a concerted worldwide meta-analysis that compares observed and derived DoC in order to derive a globally applicable formulation for DoC computations.

It is well known that estuarine systems are significantly affected by hydrodynamic conditions such as river discharge, storm surges, waves and tidal conditions. In addition to this, human interferences through developmental projects have the capability of disrupting the natural morphological processes occurring at estuaries. In West Africa, the goal to improve standards of living through large-scale dam construction, offshore ports and coastal erosion countermeasures has triggered alarming changes in the morphodynamics of estuarine systems. The estuaries at the Volta River mouth (Ghana) and “Bouche du Roi” inlet (Benin), located along the Bight of Benin coast, West Africa, were selected as two case study sites to examine their long-term morphodynamics and sandspit evolution. In this study, we primarily analyzed estuarine morphology using remotely sensed images acquired from 1984 to 2020. We further estimated the longshore sediment transport for this region using results from the image analysis and the depth of active sediment motion. Our results reveal that the longshore sediment transport rates for this region are in the magnitude of 10⁵–10⁶ m³/year. Comparative analysis with other estuaries and sandy coasts suggests that the longshore sediment transport along this coast has one of the largest rates estimated in the world.

In the 21st century, global sea level rise associated with climate change will affect beach areas, which provide a number of benefits that include benefits to the recreational sector of the economy. In Thailand, the adoption of structural measures in order to slow down beach erosion and handle the impact of sea level rise is commonly implemented. However, structural measures often bring about negative effects on nearby coastal areas. For this reason, suitable adaptation measures should be determined, in order to protect beach areas and to sustain the tourism carrying capacity of the beach. This study analyzed historical shoreline changes using satellite images, and assessed beach value with the hedonic pricing method. We used a benefit–cost ratio analysis to evaluate the economic valuation assessment of Pattaya beach and Chalatat beach. The results showed that the beach values of Pattaya beach and Chalatat beach were 1,072,250 and 92,092 USD, respectively. The benefit–cost ratio analysis proposed that it is worth implementing beach nourishment for the adaptation measure to address all climate change scenarios. In response to climate change, recommendations could be applied to support beach tourism.