Gaeilge

Pilot Coastal Monitoring Survey Programme

Objectives

The OPW Pilot Coastal Monitoring Survey Programme (CMSP) was a five year pilot project which ran from 2020 to 2024 with the following objectives:

  • Implement a regular survey programme, i.e. spring surveys, autumn surveys and surveys following significant storm events, in selected coastal locations to increase our understanding of coastal change in these areas.
  • Monitor, quantify and identify coastal change including:
    • quantification of rates of change of beach and sea bed sediment levels;
    • quantification of rates of change of beach and sea bed sediment volumes;
    • identification of submerged features that may influence coastal flood or erosion risk, or influence sediment transport processes;
    • identification and monitoring of the coastline, e.g. the vegetation line, etc.;
    • identification and quantification of changes in nearshore sediment reservoirs or sinks.
  • Inform and support the development and/or updating of numerical coastal process models (hydrodynamic, tide, wave and/or sediment transport), that may be used to update coastal site risk assessments.
  • Inform and support the planning, design and construction of new coastal infrastructure.
  • Assist with the assessment of the performance new coastal infrastructure.
  • Monitor accelerated rates of coastal erosion that may be associated with climate change.
  • Stimulate new research and innovation that may be possible based on the availability of this coastal survey information.

The OPW is currently developing a national coastal change monitoring programme. In the interim, aerial photography and LiDAR surveys will continue to be conducted in the monitoring areas identified for annual surveys in the Pilot CMSP. Refer to the Monitoring Areas and Survey Frequency section below for details of these monitoring areas.

Monitoring Areas and Survey Frequency

The areas included in the Pilot Coastal Monitoring Survey Programme and the frequency of each type of survey are included in the table below.

County Monitoring Area Aerial Photography LiDAR Topographic Beach Profile Bathymetry
Clare Cloughaninchy Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Clare Doolin 1 per 5 year cycle - - 1 per 5 year cycle
Clare Liscannor Bay Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Cork Youghal Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Donegal Moville 1 per 5 year cycle - - 1 per 5 year cycle
Donegal Rossnowlagh 1 per 5 year cycle - - 1 per 5 year cycle
Donegal Slodden to Binbane Head Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Dublin Dublin Bay North Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Dublin Dublin Bay South Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Dublin Portmarnock Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Dublin Portrane and Rush South Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Kerry Ballyheigue Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Sligo Enniscrone 1 per 5 year cycle - - 1 per 5 year cycle
Sligo Rosses Point Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Sligo Strandhill Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Waterford Ardmore Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Waterford Dungarvan Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Waterford Tramore Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle
Wexford Rosslare Annual Annual - 1 per 5 year cycle

For further details on the extent of the area being monitored at each location, refer to the Pilot Coastal Monitoring Survey Programme Map.

Survey Types and Details

Bathymetry Survey

The bathymetry surveys extend approximately from the high water mark (HWM) to a depth of approximately 20m below the low water mark (LWM) to ensure that the depth of closure is captured within the survey area. The survey lines are run at 200m intervals, approximately perpendicular to the coastline. The bathymetry survey also includes a topographic survey, at 10m grid resolution, of the intertidal zone to ensure data is captured at the land-sea interface. The primary deliverables include a survey report, processed bathymetric and topographic survey data and the associated metadata.

Aerial Photography

The aerial photography surveys generally extend from the approximate LWM to a minimum of 200m landward of the HWM. The data is captured within 1.5 hours of low tide (at the time of survey) to maximise the extent of the intertidal zone surveyed. The primary deliverables of the aerial photography surveys include 0.05m resolution red, green, blue and near infrared imagery, 0.05m resolution composite imagery, 0.25m resolution digital surface models (DSMs) and digital terrain models (DTMs), a survey report and the associated metadata.

LiDAR

The LiDAR surveys generally extend from the approximate LWM to a minimum of 200m landward of the HWM. The data is captured within 1.5 hours of low tide (at the time of survey) to maximise the extent of the intertidal zone surveyed. The LiDAR data is captured at a minimum point density of 16 points/m2 to facilitate the generation of high resolution digital elevation models. The primary deliverables of the LiDAR surveys include 0.25m resolution DSMs and DTMs, a survey report and the associated metadata.

Topographic Beach Profiles

The topographic beach profiles generally extend from the LWM to approximately 50m landward of the vegetation line. The spacing between the profiles can vary between 50m and 200m depending on the objective of each survey. Spot heights are recorded at intervals not exceeding 5m along each profile with intermediate spot heights also surveyed to represent changes in slope. Each surveyed point is tagged with a feature code to represent the beach sediment/substrate surface type. The primary deliverables from the topographic beach profile surveys include the coordinates and elevation of each surveyed point in tab-delimited text files, photographs of the each profile location, a survey report and the associated metadata.