River Blackwater Network Contribution Scores for Northern Ireland

Network contribution area scores derived from SciMAP application outputs within SAGA GIS. The scores are based on inputs from the CEH Land Cover 2007 dataset, Met Office average rainfall, and a 5-meter Digital Terrain Model. A 'High contribution' category boundary was defined by selecting areas scoring above +1 standard deviation of the score distribution.

Use Cases

• Identifying areas of high hydrological contribution to the river network based on land cover, rainfall, and topography.
• Modeling surface flow connectivity for flood risk or water quality assessments.
• Planning land management interventions by analyzing contributing areas to specific river segments.

Strengths

• Derived from established, authoritative input sources: CEH Land Cover 2007, Met Office rainfall data, and a 5m DTM.
• Methodology for defining 'High contribution' areas is explicitly stated (+1 standard deviation).
• Available in multiple geospatial formats (CSV, ESRI SHAPE, GEOJSON, JSON, KML, SHP).

Limitations

• Column names and specific data schema are unknown, limiting immediate analytical use.
• No row count, file size, or sample data is provided to assess dataset scale.
• The 'last updated' date of 2026-04-15 is a future date, indicating a potential metadata error.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service (via UK and EU open data platforms).

Collection Method

Exported from SciMAP application outputs within SAGA GIS, using inputs from CEH Land Cover 2007, Met Office average rainfall, and a 5-meter DTM.

Time Range

The primary land cover input data is from 2007, suggesting the analysis reflects conditions around that period.

Freshness

Last updated date is listed as 2026-04-15, which is a future date and likely a metadata error; the underlying data sources (e.g., CEH Land Cover 2007) suggest the core data is from circa 2007.

Geography

Northern Ireland, specifically the River Blackwater catchment.