Tide gauge - Wikipedia 01/01/2025, 00:48

Tide gauge
A tide gauge is a device for measuring the change in sea
level relative to a vertical datum.[2][3] It is also known as a
mareograph,[4] marigraph,[5] and sea-level
[6]
recorder. When applied to freshwater continental water
bodies, the instrument may also be called a
limnimeter.[7][8]

Operation
Sensors continuously record the height of the water level
with respect to a height reference surface close to the geoid.
Water enters the device by the bottom pipe (far end of the
tube, see picture), and electronic sensors measure its height
and send the data to a tiny computer.

Historical data are available for about 1,450 stations

worldwide, of which about 950 have provided updates to the
global data center since January 2010.[9] At some places
records cover centuries, for example in Amsterdam where A tide gauge
data dating back to 1700 is available.[10]

When it comes to estimating the greater ocean picture, new modern tide gauges can often be
improved upon by using satellite data.

Tide gauges are used to measure tides and quantify the size of tsunamis. The measurements
make it possible to derive the mean sea level. Using this method, sea level slopes up to several
0.1 m/1000 km and more have been detected.

A tsunami can be detected when the sea level begins to rise, although warnings from seismic
activity can be more useful.

History

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Sea-level measurements were made using simple measuring

poles or "tide staffs" until around 1830, when self-recording
gauges with mechanical floats and stilling wells were
introduced.[11]

Tidal poles and float gauges were the primary means of sea-
level measurement for over 150 years and continue to
operate at some locations today. While still part of modern-
day tide gauge instrumentation, these technologies have
since been superseded by pressure gauges (similar to depth
gauges), acoustic/ultrasonic gauges, and radar gauges.

The following types of tide gauges have been used

historically:[12]

Kelvin type tide gauge

Fuess type tide gauge
GSI type tide gauge
High accuracy automatic tide gauge
High resolution automatic tide gauge

Common applications
Tide gauges have a practical application in the shipping and
fishing industries where low or high tide levels can hinder or
prohibit access to shallow bays or locations with bridges. An
example is the Cascais tide gauge in Portugal, which was
originally installed because of the sand bar in the River
Tagus that causes difficulties for shipping entering Lisbon
port. Because of similar problems many industries have
installed private tide gauges in ports around the world, and
also rely on government agencies (such as NOAA). The tide gauge in Kronstadt,
Russia[1]
Data collected from tide gauges is also of interest to
scientists measuring global weather patterns, the mean sea
water level, and trends - notably those potentially associated with global warming.

Modern gauges
In recent years new technologies have developed allowing for real-time, remote tide information
to be published online via a solar powered wireless connection to a tide sensor.
Acoustic/ultrasonic sensors[13] have already been deployed to great effect and the data is

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regularly broadcast via Twitter and also displayed online.[14]

See also
Level sensor
Sea level rise
Stream gauge Interior view of Cascais Tide
Fort Denison#Tide gauge
Gauge showing data recording
equipment
References
1. "The Kronstadt sea-gauge" (http://www.visit-saint-petersburg.ru/sea-g Oceans portal
auge/). Your Guide in St Petersburg. Retrieved 26 April 2019. With
explanatory diagram showing Lea-type float gauge and stilling-well.
2. Iliffe, J. C.; Ziebart, M. K.; Turner, J. F. (2007). "A New Methodology
for Incorporating Tide Gauge Data in Sea Surface Topography
Models" (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/014904107015
68384). Marine Geodesy. 30 (4): 271–296.
Bibcode:2007MarGe..30..271I (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/200
7MarGe..30..271I). doi:10.1080/01490410701568384 (https://doi.org/
10.1080%2F01490410701568384). ISSN 0149-0419 (https://search.
worldcat.org/issn/0149-0419). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
3. Mitchum, Gary T. (2000). "An Improved Calibration of Satellite
Altimetric Heights Using Tide Gauge Sea Levels with Adjustment for
Land Motion" (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01490410
050128591). Marine Geodesy. 23 (3): 145–166.
Bibcode:2000MarGe..23..145M (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/20
00MarGe..23..145M). doi:10.1080/01490410050128591 (https://doi.o
rg/10.1080%2F01490410050128591). ISSN 0149-0419 (https://searc
h.worldcat.org/issn/0149-0419). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
4. Torge, W.; Müller, J. (2012). Geodesy (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=RcfmBQAAQBAJ). De Gruyter Textbook. De Gruyter. p. 80.
ISBN 978-3-11-025000-8. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
5. International Tsunami Information Center. "4. Tide, Mareograph, Sea
Level" (https://web.archive.org/web/20180724032123/http://itic.ioc-un
esco.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1023:9&ca
tid=1142&Itemid=2433). UNESCO. Archived from the original (http://it
ic.ioc-unesco.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10
23:9&catid=1142&Itemid=2433) on 2018-07-24. Retrieved
2014-06-16.
6. Ian Shennan; Antony J. Long; Benjamin P. Horton, eds. (2015).
Handbook of Sea-Level Research (https://books.google.com/books?i
d=ErbEBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA557). Wiley. p. 557. ISBN 978-1-118-
45257-8.
7. "Definition of LIMNIMETER" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio
nary/limnimeter). Merriam-Webster. 2022-10-07. Retrieved
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Tide gauge - Wikipedia 01/01/2025, 00:48

nary/limnimeter). Merriam-Webster. 2022-10-07. Retrieved

2022-10-07.
8. "Definition of LIMNIMETER" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio
nary/limnimeter). www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
9. "Obtaining Tide Gauge Data" (http://www.psmsl.org/data/obtaining/).
Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level. PSMSL. Retrieved
2016-03-07.
10. "Other Long Records not in the PSMSL Data Set" (http://www.psmsl.
org/data/longrecords/). PSMSL. Retrieved 2015-05-11.
11. Tide gauge history UK National Oceanographic Centre (http://noc.ac.
uk/science-technology/climate-sea-level/sea-level/tides/tide-gauges/ti
de-gauge-instrumentation) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201
50824020453/http://noc.ac.uk/science-technology/climate-sea-level/s
ea-level/tides/tide-gauges/tide-gauge-instrumentation) 2015-08-24 at
the Wayback Machine
12. "History of tide gauges" (https://web.archive.org/web/2013010509233
2/http://tide.gsi.go.jp/ENGLISH/history.html). Tide Observation.
Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. Archived from the original
(http://tide.gsi.go.jp/ENGLISH/history.html) on 2013-01-05. Retrieved
2014-04-19.
13. "Remote Monitoring a MaxSonar®" (https://web.archive.org/web/2012
0903032512/http://www.maxbotix.com/articles/055.htm). Archived
from the original (http://www.maxbotix.com/articles/055.htm) on 2012-
09-03. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
14. "ioBridge Apps - Ockway Bay Tide Levels" (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20120121215442/http://www.iobridge.com/apps/tide/ockway_bay).
Archived from the original (http://www.iobridge.com/apps/tide/ockway
_bay) on 2012-01-21. Retrieved 2012-09-28.

Further reading
Gerd Morgenschweis (2010). Hydrometrie: Theorie und Praxis der Durchflussmessung in
offenen Gerinnen (https://books.google.com/books?id=Rp8gywGrwyAC&pg=PA70).
Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-642-05390-0. (in German)

External links
Historical Examples (http://tide.gsi.go.jp/ENGLISH/history.html) Archived (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20130105092332/http://tide.gsi.go.jp/ENGLISH/history.html) 2013-01-05 at the
Wayback Machine Brown University
Mean Sea Level Explanation (http://sealevel.colorado.edu/tide-gauge-sea-level)
NOAA Tide Data (http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/)

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