1990 AP: Northern Ireland Shoreline Change Analysis Since the 1800s

Historical shoreline positions for the Northern Ireland coastline, analyzed from the early 1800s onward. Ulster University produced this dataset by analyzing Ordnance Survey maps and aerial imagery using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) to calculate rates of change. The data provides a dynamic picture of coastal retreat and accretion over annual to decadal time periods.

Use Cases

• Modeling coastal erosion and accretion rates based on calculated End Point Rate (EPR) and Linear Regression Rate (LRR) statistics.
• Visualizing historical shoreline movement and Net Shoreline Movement (NSM) for coastal planning and management.
• Identifying areas of significant coastal change using the Shoreline Change Envelope (SCE) metric.
• Assessing the uncertainty of shoreline positions by applying Weighted Linear Regression Rate (WLR) analysis.

Strengths

• Analysis spans a long temporal range, from the early 1800s to the present.
• Rate-of-change statistics were calculated at 25-meter intervals along the coast.
• Derived from multiple historical sources, including Ordnance Survey maps and aerial imagery.
• Includes multiple statistical measures of change (NSM, SCE, EPR, LRR, WLR).

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

Ulster University, via OpenDataNI.

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 onward.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-18 11:23:34.524655; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern Ireland coastline.