Northern Ireland Coastal Digital Terrain Model from 2021 LiDAR Survey

Northern Ireland's coastline was surveyed in 2021 using airborne LiDAR. The data provides a precise Digital Terrain Model covering the intertidal area and extending approximately 200 meters landward of the high-water mark. The dataset is published by OpenDataNI under the OGL-UK-3.0 license.

Use Cases

• Model coastal erosion and sediment transport based on precise terrain elevation.
• Assess flood risk and plan coastal defenses based on the intertidal and landward topography.
• Monitor changes in coastal morphology over time using the 2021 survey as a baseline.
• Create 3D visualizations and maps of the Northern Ireland coastline based on the DTM.

Strengths

• Data is described as 'precise and accurate' for coastal morphology.
• Spatial coverage is defined, including the intertidal zone and 200 meters landward.
• Dataset has a clear temporal anchor from the 2021 survey.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

OpenDataNI

Collection Method

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

Time Range

2021

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-18 11:23:46.749586; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern Ireland coastline