Course:VANT149/2024/Capstone/Science/Team14

Abstract

In addition to supporting an extensive biodiversity, coastal zones play a crucial role in the social, cultural and economic human development. However, due to the conjunction of natural and anthropogenic factors, the rates of coastal erosion have continuously increased the vulnerability of those zones. This study seeks to quantify the coastal erosion magnitude in the highly touristic beach Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo (Mexico) from 2019 to 2023. The data extraction and analysis was performed using the open source software toolkit CoastSat along with Google Earth Engine (Vos et al., 2019), and the satellite imagery from the Harmonized Sentinel-2 data set (GEE, n.d.). The study of seven cross-shore transects showed an overall severe (-5 to -3 m/y)  to extreme (> -5 m/y) average erosion.  Therefore, the study could be complemented with core research in order to improve the existing management policies against shoreline degradation.

Biography

Priscila Luciano Carranza is a Mexican first-year student at the University of British Columbia. After obtaining her Baccalauréat through a joint scholarship program between the Mexican and French governments, she was recognized as a recipient of the Vantage One Excellence Award in 2023. Priscila is particularly interested in the interdisciplinary applications of Computer Science, with the goal of connecting technology with other fields in order to innovate and create a positive impact.

This interest is demonstrated through this project using remote sensing techniques to analyze costal erosion in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. For the 2024 Capstone Conference, she contributed to the conceptualization of the conference theme and was a student speaker at the closing ceremony.