Northern Ireland Shoreline Change Analysis from the Early 1800s

Historical shoreline positions for the Northern Ireland coastline, derived from Ordnance Survey maps and aerial imagery. Ulster University analyzed the data using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) to calculate rate-of-change statistics at 25-meter intervals. The dataset visualizes shoreline movement and assesses historical change rates for coastal management.

Use Cases

• Calculate rates of coastal erosion or accretion based on Net Shoreline Movement (NSM) and End Point Rate (EPR) statistics.
• Model long-term shoreline trends using Linear Regression Rate (LRR) and Weighted Linear Regression Rate (WLR) data.
• Identify specific stretches of coastline experiencing significant retreat or advance based on the Shoreline Change Envelope (SCE) measure.
• Support coastal zone management and planning with spatially explicit historical change data.

Strengths

• Analysis spans a long temporal range, from the early 1800s to the present.
• Rate-of-change calculations were performed at a high spatial resolution of 25-meter intervals.
• Derived from multiple historical sources, including Ordnance Survey maps and aerial imagery.
• Provides multiple statistical measures of change (NSM, SCE, EPR, LRR, WLR) for robust analysis.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Ulster University, provided via OpenDataNI.

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 to present.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-18 11:22:56.238822; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern Ireland coastline.