NI 3D Coastal Survey: 2021 LiDAR Digital Surface Model

A 2021 airborne LiDAR survey captured the complete Northern Ireland coastline, extending approximately 200 meters landward from the high-water mark and including the intertidal zone. The dataset provides a precise Digital Surface Model (DSM) representing the first-return elevation of all surface features. This data documents current coastal morphology for environmental monitoring and planning.

Use Cases

• Modeling coastal erosion and accretion rates based on precise topographic change detection.
• Assessing flood risk and inundation scenarios for communities landward of the high-water mark.
• Monitoring intertidal habitat extent and structure for conservation management.
• Planning coastal defense infrastructure using accurate landward elevation data.

Strengths

• Provides complete, wall-to-wall coverage of the entire Northern Ireland coastline.
• Captures data for the intertidal zone, a critical and dynamic coastal environment.
• Derived from precise airborne LiDAR, offering high-accuracy surface elevation measurements.

Limitations

• Key technical specifications (point density, vertical accuracy, resolution) are not provided in the available metadata.
• The dataset's size, row count, and specific column structure are unknown, limiting assessment of its direct usability.
• One source lists a last update date of 2026-04-15, which likely reflects a metadata refresh, not new data collection, creating potential confusion about data currency.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service (likely on behalf of a Northern Ireland government body).

Collection Method

Airborne LiDAR survey commissioned as part of the NI 3D Coastal Survey.

Time Range

2021

Freshness

2026-04-15 (metadata update); underlying data collected in 2021.

Geography

The entire coastline of Northern Ireland, extending ~200 meters landward of the high-water mark.