Northern Ireland Historical Shoreline Change Analysis, 1800s Onwards

Historical shoreline positions for the Northern Ireland coastline, analyzed from the early 1800s to at least 1980 using Ordnance Survey maps and aerial imagery. Ulster University processed the data using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) to calculate rate-of-change statistics at 25-meter intervals. The dataset includes metrics like Net Shoreline Movement and Linear Regression Rate, providing a dynamic picture of coastal change over annual to decadal periods.

Use Cases

• Modeling coastal erosion risk based on historical rate-of-change statistics like End Point Rate (EPR) and Linear Regression Rate (LRR).
• Identifying areas of significant shoreline retreat or accretion using the Shoreline Change Envelope (SCE) metric.
• Visualizing long-term coastal evolution for planning and conservation using geospatial shoreline positions.
• Calibrating predictive coastal models with historical Net Shoreline Movement (NSM) data.

Strengths

• Analysis spans a long temporal range, from the early 1800s to at least 1980.
• Rate-of-change statistics were calculated at a high spatial resolution of 25-meter intervals.
• Derived from multiple historical sources, including Ordnance Survey maps and aerial imagery.
• Processed using a standardized methodology (Digital Shoreline Analysis System - DSAS).

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

OpenDataNI, with analysis provided by Ulster University.

Collection Method

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

Time Range

Early 1800s to at least 1980.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-18 11:23:24.501591; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern Ireland coastline.