Northern Ireland Historical Shoreline Change Analysis, 1800s Onwards

Historical shoreline positions for the Northern Ireland coastline, derived from Ordnance Survey maps and aerial imagery. Ulster University produced this digital asset by analyzing shoreline geometry over annual to decadal periods since the early 1800s. The data includes rate-of-change statistics calculated at 25-meter intervals using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS).

Use Cases

• Calculate rates of coastal erosion or accretion based on Net Shoreline Movement (NSM) and End Point Rate (EPR) statistics.
• Model shoreline change trends using Linear Regression Rate (LRR) and Weighted Linear Regression Rate (WLR) outputs.
• Identify specific stretches of coastline with significant historical change using the Shoreline Change Envelope (SCE) measure.
• Visualize the dynamic evolution of the Northern Ireland coast over two centuries.

Strengths

• Analysis spans a long temporal range, from the early 1800s to the present.
• Rate-of-change statistics are calculated at a high spatial resolution of 25-meter intervals.
• 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 coastline.

Provenance

Source

OpenDataNI, likely based on work 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 onwards, with annual to decadal analysis periods.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-18 11:23:42.144586; freshness should be verified.

Geography

The entire coastline of Northern Ireland.