Ulster University researchers map 193 years of the north of Ireland’s coastline changes

Ireland’s coastline changes: For the first time, researchers have a complete picture of the 200-year history of shoreline alteration in the north of Ireland.

The Ulster University team of experts has investigated what changes have occurred using old maps and aerial photos.

A thorough picture of coastal change over the last 193 years has now been produced through their research.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) provided funding for the project, which has been ongoing for more than a year and offers some of the most thorough analysis available for analysing historical changes on coastlines.

Each 25-meter section of the coastline was examined for positional changes using the earliest detailed Ordnance Survey maps (circa 1830), subsequent mapping surveys, vertical aerial photographs from the 1950s to the present, as well as a recent coastal topographic LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) survey carried out by DAERA.

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193 years of the north of Ireland’s coastline changes

The project “was a huge technical task,” according to the project’s principal researcher and expert on coastal processes, Professor Derek Jackson, but it resulted in “a fantastic database from which to better understand” how the shoreline has changed.

“Northern Ireland now has a detailed picture of how dynamic the coastline is, particularly the sandy stretches,” he said.

As a result, there is now a far stronger scientific foundation on which to manage these sites going forward.

“Shoreline change data reveals where sediment erosion (or even build-up) has taken place, and this can better inform any future planning decisions or other uses of specific stretches of the coast.”

The project’s co-investigator, Professor Andrew Cooper, stated that human modifications, such as extensive land reclamation in sea loughs, construction or expansion of ports and harbours, power plants, wastewater treatment areas, or touristic facilities, were to blame for the largest shoreline advancements recorded along the coastline in the last 200 years.

According to him, “rocky coasts, aside from rare rockfalls, were less subject to large-scale changes, as were shorelines not affected by human modification in sea loughs.”

The offshore islands also experienced slight alterations.

“The largest ‘natural’ shoreline erosion levels were recorded on the western side of Magilligan Point (Co Derry), while the largest shoreline advancement over the last two centuries was found at Murlough’s (Co. Down) sand spit.”

Aside from buildup at the Castlerock-Portstewart Strand complex (caused by the extensive jetties at the river Bann entrance, which are trapping sand from both directions) and Ballykinler (related to the local geology and inlet exchanges between the inner and outer Dundrum Bay), the study also found that open-coast sandy shorelines showed various levels of erosion.

“The project also examined areas where coastal processes are concentrated, within which sediment is largely contained and moved around,” Professor Jackson continued.

Seven of these “coastal cells,” or zones, in total were found, which is helpful for upcoming methods of coastal management.