Coastal Vulnerability Assessment in Svalbard region of the Arctic exploiting geoinformation technologies and a cloud-based platform

Monitoring coastal vulnerability is becoming increasingly important, due to climate-driven phenomena, such as sea level rise, glacier melt, and coastal changes, accelerate erosion and land loss, threatening infrastructure and ecosystems. In this study, a comprehensive methodology was developed and applied in part of Svalbard, Norway, using the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI). The approach is based on an automated workflow developed in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, enabling automated and accurate extraction of coastlines from Landsat satellite data for the period 2014–2023. Additionally, geospatial analysis tools including ArcGIS and DSAS employed to calculate parameters such as shoreline change rates. The results revealed spatial variations in vulnerability and dynamic changes in the coastline, providing valuable information for coastal zone management in one of the most vulnerable environments on the planet. Specifically, approximately 4% of the coastline was classified with high vulnerability, 29% with moderate, 53% with low and 14% with very low. The proposed methodology is expected to be an effective tool for researchers and decision-makers, enhancing adaptation planning to the impacts of climate change in Arctic coastal areas.