Northern Ireland Shoreline Change Analysis from the 1800s

Historical shoreline analysis for the entire Northern Ireland coastline, with rate-of-change statistics calculated at 25-meter intervals. Ulster University produced this dataset using Ordnance Survey maps and aerial imagery, analyzing changes from the early 1800s onward. The data was processed using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) to calculate metrics like Net Shoreline Movement and Linear Regression Rate.

Use Cases

• Modeling coastal erosion risk based on historical shoreline change rates.
• Visualizing areas of shoreline retreat or accretion along the Northern Ireland coast.
• Assessing long-term coastal change for management planning using multi-decadal shoreline positions.
• Calculating shoreline change statistics like End Point Rate and Weighted Linear Regression Rate at specific transects.

Strengths

• Analysis spans a long temporal range, from the early 1800s onward.
• Rate-of-change data is provided at a high spatial resolution of 25-meter intervals.
• Derived from multiple historical sources including Ordnance Survey maps and aerial imagery.
• Includes multiple statistical measures of change (e.g., NSM, SCE, EPR, LRR, WLR).

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

OpenDataNI, Ulster University

Collection Method

Analysis of historical Ordnance Survey maps and aerial imagery using the ArcGIS Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS).

Time Range

Early 1800s onward

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-18 11:23:40.605514; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern Ireland coastline