NOAA Water Level Predictions Stations for the Coastal United States and Other Non-U.S. Sites
Dataset Identification:
Resource Abstract:
The National Ocean Service (NOS) maintains a long-term database containing water level measurements and derived tidal data
for coastal waters of the United States and U.S. territories. These data allow for the determination and maintenance of vertical
reference datums used for surveying and mapping, coastal construction, waterborne commerce, water level regulation, marine
boundary determination, and tide prediction, and for the determination of long-term water level variations (e.g. trends).
The data also supports other U.S. government programs, including the National Weather Service (NWS) Tsunami Warning System,
the NWS storm surge monitoring programs, and the NOAA Climate and Global Change Program. The database contains an extended
series of water level measurements recorded at different tide observation stations. These data are processed to generate a
number of products, including monthly and yearly averages for mean tide level, mean sea level, diurnal tide level, mean high
and low water, mean range, diurnal mean range, monthly extremes for high and low waters, and frequency and duration of inundations
(the number of times and length of time at which the water level has equaled or exceeded a specific elevation for a period
of analysis). Data are compiled for coastal waters of the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and U.S. territories
in the Pacific region. Water levels are monitored from a network of over 200 permanent, continuously operating tide observation
stations and from numerous stations operated for short-term and long-term projects. Water level measurements are compiled
for a variety of observation periods, depending upon the location. For some tide observation stations, records date back to
the late 1800s. Observed water level values are compiled primarily at six minute increments. In addition, some stations provide
real-time data for planning and emergency situations. The observed values are processed to generate mean and extreme values
for different temporal intervals, as noted above. The data consist simply of elevations of water, in feet, observed at specific
geographic locations and temporal periods. All water level measurements are referenced to staff '0' and can be referenced
to other datums, such as the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). Recent data are recorded to the hundredth of
a foot; data collected prior to the mid-1960s are recorded to the tenth of a foot. The foundation of the water level database
is the National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON), a system of long-term operating tide stations maintained by NOS.
Data also are obtained through short-term and long-term cooperative projects with other federal, state, and local agencies
and governments to accomplish mutual goals in water level measurement. For example, tide stations are operated temporarily
for marine boundary determination and hydrographic survey projects. NOS also maintains several cooperative stations with foreign
governments for the Climate and Global Change Program. Indices of tide stations maintained by NOS are available which include
for each station the latitude, longitude, dates of observations, bench mark sheet publication date, and tidal epoch. NOS also
issues tidal bench mark sheets upon completion of a data collection series or as needed for long-term NWLON stations. Tidal
bench mark sheets provide location descriptions and vertical elevations referenced to tidal datums of the station bench marks.
A table of tidal datums and the 1929 NGVD, when available, are referenced to the station reference datum. A number of products
are issued monthly and annually, for free or on a cost recovery basis. The products are distributed on either hard copy, floppy
disk, CD, or over the web and include the following: o Tide Observation Station Lists o Tides, 6-Minute Heights o Tides, Hourly
Heights of Tides, Times and Heights of High and Low Waters o Tides, Monthly Mean Summaries o Tidal Bench Mark Sheets with
Tidal Datums o Frequency and Duration Analysis of Tidal Water Levels o Daily Mean Sea Level
Citation
Title NOAA Water Level Predictions Stations for the Coastal United States and Other Non-U.S. Sites
publication Date
2011-08-01
presentationForm
mapDigital
cited responsible party
-
publisher
organisation Name
NOAA's Ocean Service, Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS)
Contact information
Address
, Silver Spring, MD
cited responsible party
-
originator
organisation Name
Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center
for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS)
other Citation Details
Cinergi keyword enhanced at Sun Nov 13 15:26:44 UTC 2016
purpose:
NOAA Tide predictions have been produced annually for the use of mariners since 1983. The official Tide predictions are published
annually on October 1, for the following calendar year. Tide predictions generated prior to the publishing date of the official
predictions are subject to change. The predictions from the web based NOAA Tide Predictions are based upon the latest information
available.
Resource language:
eng; USA
Resource progress code:
completed
Resource Maintenance Information
maintenance or update frequency:
continual
Constraints on resource usage:
Constraints
Use limitation statement:
The accuracy of the tide predictions is different for each location. Periodically we do a comparison of the predicted tides
vs the observed tides for a calendar year. The information generated is compiled in a Tide Prediction Accuracy Table. We work
to insure that the predictions are as accurate as possible. However, we can only predict the astronomical tides, we cannot
predict the effect that wind, rain, freshwater runoff, and other short-term meteorological events will have on the tides.In
general, predictions for stations along the outer coast are more accurate than those for stations farther inland; along a
river, or in a bay or other estuary. Inland stations tend to have a stronger non-tidal influence; that is, they are more susceptible
to the effects of wind and other meteorological effects than stations along the outer coast. An example of an inland station
which is difficult to predict is Baltimore, Maryland. This station is located at the northern end of Chesapeake Bay. Winds
which blow along the length of the bay have been known to cause water levels to be 1-2 feet above or below the predicted tides.Stations
in relatively shallow water, or with a small tidal range, are also highly susceptible to meteorological effects and thus difficult
to accurately predict. At these stations, short-term weather events can completely mask the astronomical tides. Many of the
stations along the western Gulf of Mexico fall into this category. An example is Galveston, Texas. This station is in a bay
which is relatively shallow and has a small opening to the sea. At this station it is possible for meteorological events to
delay or accelerate the arrival of the predicted tides by an hour or more.
Constraints on resource usage:
Legal Constraints
use constraint:
otherRestrictions
Other constraints
Use Constraints: The accuracy of the tide predictions is different for each location. Periodically we do a comparison of the
predicted tides vs. the observed tides for a calendar year. The information generated is compiled in a Tide Prediction Accuracy
Table. We work to insure that the predictions are as accurate as possible. We can only predict the astronomical tides, we
cannot predict the effect that wind, rain, freshwater runoff, and other short-term meteorological events will have on the
tides.
Constraints on resource usage:
Legal Constraints
Access Constraints
otherRestrictions
Other constraints
Access Constraints: None
Spatial representation type code:
vector
Processing environment:
Native Dataset Environment: Microsoft Windows 2000 Version 5.0 (Build 2195) Service Pack 2; ESRI ArcCatalog 8.2.0.700
Resource extent
Geographic Extent
Geographic Bounding Box
westBoundLongitude
-180.0
eastBoundLongitude
180.0
northBoundLatitude
70.4
southBoundLatitude
-54.8
Temporal Extent
1854-06-30
Additional information on resource:
Standard Options: The NOAA Tide Predictions application provides several standard options including selection of a Daily,
Weekly, or Monthly view. Other standard options include the ability to select feet or meters, and the ability to select a
time zone of LST/LDT, LST, or GMT. Several important characteristics of the default ("Daily") view include the time range
of 2 Days centered on the current date, Time Zone of LST/LDT, Data Units of Feet, heights referenced to MLLW, and Tabular
High / Low values. Advanced Options: The NOAA Tide Predictions application provides several Advanced Options including selection
of one of six different datums (MLLW, MLW, MSL, MHW, MHHW, MTL), time format of AM/PM or 24-Hour, data intervals for the associated
tables, and threshold values relative to a user defined threshold value.
Credits:
NOAA's Ocean Service, Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS)
point of contact
-
pointOfContact
organisation Name
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Operational Oceanographic
Products and Services (CO-OPS)
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 301-713-2981
Fax 301-713-4392
Address
1305 East-West Highway N/OPS3, Silver Spring, MD, 20910
Country U.S.A.
source description
Source Contribution: NOAA Tide PredictionsSource Type online, CD ROM, paper
source citation
Title NOAA Tide Predictions
publication Date
presentationForm
GRAPHIC PLOTS, TABULAR DIGITAL DATA
other Citation Details
CO-OPS Data Disclaimer: The accuracy of the tide predictions is different for each location. Periodically we do a comparison
of the predicted tides vs. the observed tides for a calendar year. The information generated is compiled in a Tide Prediction
Accuracy Table. We work to insure that the predictions are as accurate as possible. We can only predict the astronomical tides,
we cannot predict the effect that wind, rain, freshwater runoff, and other short-term meteorological events will have on the
tides.
cited responsible party
-
publisher
organisation Name
NOAA's Ocean Service, Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS)
Contact information
Address
, Silver Spring, MD
cited responsible party
-
originator
organisation Name
NOAA's Ocean Service, Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS)
evaluation Method Description
The accuracy of the tide predictions is different for each location. Periodically we do a comparison of the predicted tides
vs. the observed tides for a calendar year. The information generated is compiled in a Tide Prediction Accuracy Table. We
work to insure that the predictions are as accurate as possible. However, we can only predict the astronomical tides, we cannot
predict the effect that wind, rain, freshwater runoff, and other short-term meteorological events will have on the tides.
Completeness Omission
evaluation Method Description
The accuracy of the tide predictions is different for each location. Periodically we do a comparison of the predicted tides
vs. the observed tides for a calendar year. The information generated is compiled in a Tide Prediction Accuracy Table. We
work to insure that the predictions are as accurate as possible. However, we can only predict the astronomical tides, we cannot
predict the effect that wind, rain, freshwater runoff, and other short-term meteorological events will have on the tides.
ConceptualConsistency
measure Description
The accuracy of the tide predictions is different for each location. Periodically we do a comparison of the predicted tides
vs. the observed tides for a calendar year. The information generated is compiled in a Tide Prediction Accuracy Table. We
work to insure that the predictions are as accurate as possible. However, we can only predict the astronomical tides, we cannot
predict the effect that wind, rain, freshwater runoff, and other short-term meteorological events will have on the tides.
In general, predictions for stations along the outer coast are more accurate than those for stations farther inland; along
a river, or in a bay or other estuary. Inland stations tend to have a stronger non-tidal influence; that is, they are more
susceptible to the effects of wind and other meteorological effects than stations along the outer coast. An example of an
inland station which is difficult to predict is Baltimore, Maryland. This station is located at the northern end of Chesapeake
Bay. Winds, which blow along the length of the bay, have been known to cause water levels to be 1-2 feet above or below the
predicted tides. Stations in relatively shallow water, or with a small tidal range, are also highly susceptible to meteorological
effects and thus difficult to accurately predict. At these stations, short-term weather events can completely mask the astronomical
tides. Many of the stations along the western Gulf of Mexico fall into this category. An example is Galveston, Texas. This
station is in a bay which is relatively shallow and has a small opening to the sea. At this station it is possible for meteorological
events to delay or accelerate the arrival of the predicted tides by an hour or more.
QuantitativeAttributeAccuracy
name Of Measure Quantitative Attribute Accuracy Assessment
evaluation Method Description
The accuracy of the tide predictions is different for each location. The National Ocean Service can only predict the astronomical
tides and cannot predict the effect that wind, rain, freshwater runoff, and other short-term meteorological events will have
on the tides. In general, predictions for stations along the outer coast are more accurate than those for stations farther
inland; such as, along a river, or in a bay or other estuary. Inland stations tend to have a stronger nontidal influence;
that is, they are more susceptible to the effects of wind and other meteorological effects than stations along the outer coast.
An example of an inland station that is difficult to predict is Baltimore, Maryland. This station is located at the northern
end of Chesapeake Bay. Winds that blow along the length of the bay have been known to cause water levels to be 1-2 feet above
or below the predicted tides. Stations in relatively shallow water, or with a small tidal range, are also highly susceptible
to meteorological effects, and thus, difficult to accurately predict. At these stations, short-term weather events can completely
mask the astronomical tides. Many of the stations along the western Gulf of Mexico fall into this category. An example is
Galveston, Texas. This station is in a bay that is relatively shallow and has a small opening to the sea. At this station
it is possible for meteorological events to delay or accelerate the arrival of the predicted tides by an hour or more.
Quantitative Result
result value The accuracy of the tide predictions is different for each location.
organisation Name
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Operational Oceanographic
Products and Services (CO-OPS)
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 301-713-2981
Fax 301-713-4392
Address
1305 East West Highway N/OPS, Silver Spring, MD, 20190
Country U.S.A.
fees There is a fee for services rendered by CO-OPS. A request for water level data, benchmark information, Great Lakes data and
information typically costs $48.00.
notes: This metadata was automatically generated from the FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata standard (version
FGDC-STD-001-1998) using the 2012-06-20T17:21:00 version of the FGDC RSE to ISO 19115-2 transform.
Metadata contact
-
pointOfContact
organisation Name
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Operational Oceanographic
Products and Services (CO-OPS)
position Name Chief, Products and Services Division (CO-OPS)
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 301-713-2981
Fax 301-713-4392
Address
1305 East-West Highway N/OPS3, Silver Spring, MD, 20910
Country U.S.A.