Northern Ireland Historical Shoreline Change Analysis, 1800s-2010s

Historical shoreline positions for the Northern Ireland coastline, analyzed from the early 1800s to recent decades. The data was derived from Ordnance Survey maps and aerial imagery, processed using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) to calculate rates of change. The end product was provided by Ulster University and published by OpenDataNI.

Use Cases

• Calculate rates of shoreline change based on Net Shoreline Movement (NSM) and End Point Rate (EPR) statistics.
• Identify areas of coastal retreat or accretion based on Shoreline Change Envelope (SCE) measurements.
• Model long-term coastal dynamics using Linear Regression Rate (LRR) and Weighted Linear Regression Rate (WLR) statistics.
• Visualize historical shoreline positions and change over annual to decadal time periods.

Strengths

• Analysis spans a long temporal range from the early 1800s to recent decades.
• Rate-of-change statistics were calculated at 25-meter intervals along the coast.
• Derived from multiple historical data sources including Ordnance Survey maps and aerial imagery.
• Processed using the established Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) methodology.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the Northern Ireland focus.

Provenance

Source

OpenDataNI, with analysis by Ulster University.

Collection Method

Historical shoreline analysis based on Ordnance Survey maps and aerial imagery, processed using ArcGIS and the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS).

Time Range

Early 1800s to recent decades.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-18 11:22:23.300590; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern Ireland coastline.