Geospatial Application in the Study of Beach Placer along the Coast of Gulf of Mannar, India

Abstract

Geospatial analysis of marine mineral placer deposits along the Gulf of Mannar is attempted. This study develops a method for the spatial anlaysis of data using geographical information system (GIS). Specifically, creating attribute data base structure, data encoding, data interpolation, and view shed analysis are attempted to delineate the opaque and garnet occurrences in the beach sediments. Data integration including the creation of digital files using TNT Mips software is performed. The interpolation of the spaced data is achieved by inverse distance weighed interpolation to define the zone of heavy mineral enrichment. This study has established the digital elevation model (DEM) capability to identify the potential beach placer zones in the study area.