WORLD TIDES

USER MANUAL
Version 1.03
January 25, 2007

By

John D. Boon, Ph.D.

John D. Boon Marine Consultant, LLC

P.O. Box 1042
Gloucester Point, VA 23062 USA

Website: www.worldtidesandcurrents.com
Email: jdbmc@worldtidesandcurrents.com

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................3

2. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.............................................................................3

3. GETTING STARTED.............................................................................................4

4. TIDE ANALYSIS...................................................................................................4

5. CHOOSING TIDAL CONSTITUENTS................................................................6

6. TIDE PREDICTIONS...........................................................................................12

7. ANALYZING STORM SURGE AND STORM TIDES......................................13

8. ENTERING DATA WITH EXCEL......................................................................14

9. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS...............................................................16

10. APPENDIX A.......................................................................................................19

11. APPENDIX B.......................................................................................................21

12. REFERENCES.....................................................................................................25
 1. INTRODUCTION

WORLD TIDES is a desktop computer program for the analysis and prediction of water
levels in tidal waterways. Designed to be extremely easy to use, its Graphical User
Interface (GUI) permits quick separation of a time series of water level measurements into
its tidal and non-tidal components using a selective least squares harmonic reduction
employing up to 35 tidal constituents. After saving the tidal constants for the constituents
selected during analysis, the user can generate predictions of the astronomical tide, the
water level that varies at known tidal frequencies attributable to gravitational interactions
between the earth, moon and sun.

Many software packages are available today that allow tide predictions to be made in tidal
waterways throughout the world. With few exceptions, these programs use tidal constants
determined by governmental agencies and the casual user of this software is generally
unaware of any of the details involved in the agencys analysis, not least the breakdown of
observed water level variation into its tidal and non-tidal parts.

If you are wondering why anyone should care about this distinction, consider the following
reason. It is easy to fault the astronomical prediction formula when predictions dont agree
with observations but, depending on the region, the astronomical tide may in fact be quite
small compared to wind-generated and other forms of locally induced water level change
that exists in the same record. In addition, little information is available to users, casual or
otherwise, about the length of the water level time series used to estimate tidal constants or
about how old the data are. Predictions for coastal waterways that have undergone
significant hydrologic change (storms, dredging activity) may be subject to errors resulting
from outdated measurements. For those with suitable data at hand, along with a personal
computer or laptop, there is no reason to accept the status quo.

WORLD TIDES is the ideal package with which to explore and develop preliminary to
finalized tidal predictions from serial records spanning several weeks to several months.
Although its operating features are intuitive and can be quickly grasped by users familiar

with MS Windows terminology, it is important to have a general understanding of the
theory of tides before using WORLD TIDES. Comprehensive references such as
Cartwright (2000) and Pugh (2004) are highly recommended for this purpose, as is Boon
(2004) for a practical introduction.

2. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

WORLD TIDES is an application of the MATLAB technical computing language, a
product of The MathWorks, Inc. For product information, contact The MathWorks, Inc., 3
Apple Hill Drive, Natick, MA 01760-2098 USA (Email: info@mathworks.com). The
present program is compatible with MATLAB Versions 7.0.4 through 7.3.0 (R2006b)
running on personal computers with the MS Windows operating system (Windows XP).
 3. GETTING STARTED

No installation is required. Simply download the zipped package of WORLD TIDES files
to a working directory on your computer. After unzipping the package and starting
MATLAB in the working directory, enter the single command worldtides to start the main
program. The window that will appear next on your screen offers two choices: Tide
Analysis and Tide Prediction. The best way to learn how the program operates is to
conduct a water level analysis with the example data provided. Start this task after reading
Section 4. WATER LEVEL ANALYSIS, and continue with Section 5. CHOOSING TIDAL
CONSTITUENTS. Then use the results to generate tide predictions as described in Section
6. TIDE PREDICTION.

At this time, WORLD TIDES operates only on personal computers with Microsoft
Windows (Windows XP) and Microsoft Excel 2000 or Microsoft Office Excel 2003. The
analysis portion of the software accepts only files of type .xls for data input and requires
serial date and time as defined in Excel worksheets to operate correctly. Acceptable data
input formats are presented in Section 8. ENTERING DATA WITH EXCEL.

CAUTION: Users are cautioned not to substitute worksheets ccreated with other operating
systems. The author is aware of one instance in which an Excel worksheet constructed with
a Macintosh computer ran successfully but provided meaningless results because a
different time origin was used by the Mac version. To test for the correct time origin on
your worksheet, first format a test cell using Time category 3/14/01 13:30, and then
enter 1/1/1900. The cell should display 1/1/00 0:00 (1/1/1900 12:00:00 AM on the
toolbar). Next re-format the cell to the Number category; the number 1.00 should
appear, the number of days since midnight beginning December 31, 1899 (WORLD
TIDES time origin). MATLAB serial time functions use yet another origin but conversions
are handled within the WORLD TIDES program and are transparent to the user.

4. TIDE ANALYSIS

The method used by WORLD TIDES to analyze a water level time series is commonly
known as Harmonic Analysis, Method of Least Squares (HAMELS). It achieves a
progressive reduction in variance (mean square deviation about the mean) by adding
harmonic terms with specific astronomical frequencies to a general least squares model of
the type used for multiple regression. It is not Fourier analysis, a procedure that employs
only the Fourier frequencies. A brief description of HAMELS is given in Appendix A. For
a complete description of the least squares harmonic analysis method employed here, the
reader is referred to Boon (2004).

We sometimes call this a water level analysis (rather than a tide analysis) because the
measured change in water level in coastal waterways varies at both tidal and non-tidal
frequencies, including frequencies so low they appear as a mean level or linear trend in
short series. The objective of the analysis is to separate these components so that a tidal
height prediction can be made with the component that is predictable the water level that
oscillates at tidal frequencies. So, if youve started WORLD TIDES and are on the main
page, you are ready to begin by clicking Tide Analysis.

Tide Analysis - Clicking Tide Analysis starts the GUI page that performs tide analysis
(An example of this page is shown in Figure 1 of Appendix B). Directing your attention to
the menu bar at the top of the Analysis page, please click on Disclaimer and read the
disclaimer message before proceeding. Click on Program Help immediately to the left of
the Disclaimer button to view information about input files, file analysis, selection of
tidal constituents and other topics. The analysis occurs in two steps in which the user has
the following choices to make:

(1) Settings: Only two settings are required: the series length (in days) and the water level
units employed (meters or feet). Two example data sets appear in the listbox in the upper
right corner of the page: one from Ballyheige, a town at the entrance to the Shannon River
in western Ireland (bally20040607.xls) courtesy of the Irish Geological Survey, and one
from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Chesapeake Bay entrance (cbbt20021101.xls)
courtesy of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Both
contain a 29-day water level record in meters. Before double-clicking on an input file to
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run, first go to the gray frame at left where the default value of 29 days is shown in blue .
After setting the series length (29 days for the examples given), use the radiobuttons in the
frame to select the appropriate units.

When uncertain about the units (feet or meters), open the Excel file and examine the data
before you proceed. If your file isnt already annotated, its a good idea to set up a header
worksheet with station name, location, series length, measurement units, time zone and
water depth, placing it after the first worksheet containing the water level data. When
ready, double-click the file you want to analyze and wait a moment while the data are read
in (the time required depends on the length of the series and the sampling rate employed).

(2) Analysis: After the data are read in, the message File ready for analysis will appear in
the databox directly below the listbox containing the file names. The second step begins
with a press of the large ANALYZE button on the right side of the page. The number of
days in the file selected will be briefly displayed in the databox, followed by the date and
time of the first record in the file. A graph will appear next showing the results of a least
squares harmonic analysis fitting the five main tidal constituents, O1, K1, N2, M2 and S2,
to the water level data (Appendix B, Figure 2). A listbox at the bottom of the page displays
the tidal constants (amplitude and phase) computed for all five constituents.

You have probably already noticed that the above five symbols appear next to some
checked boxes inside a wide blue frame containing thirty more boxes that arent checked.
The first five are always selected but the thirty others should be thought of as potential
constituents that you can choose for inclusion in the next round of analysis. All you have to
do is check the ones you want to include in the tide model and press ANALYZE.
Constituent selection is explained in the next section.

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Numbers shown in blue may be changed by the user to make another selection or setting.
 5. CHOOSING TIDAL CONSTITUENTS

For a relatively short series of observations (29 days to 58 days), there are limits to the
number of constituents that can be used in a harmonic analysis of the tide. In general, the
difficulty caused by short series length arises in the resolution of certain constituents that
are close to others in frequency (consult the listbox at the top of the Analysis page for a list
of available constituents and their frequency). The major solar semidiurnal constituent S2,
for example, has a frequency of exactly 2 cycles per mean solar day; the semidiurnal
constituents T2 (1.9973 cpd), R2 (2.0027 cpd) and K2 (2.0055 cpd) are all very close to
this frequency and can be difficult to resolve from a short series. Its not that these
constituents dont have a correct amplitude and phase its just that you cant learn what
they are if you dont have the data. You could try to analyze a 29-day record after checking
all 35 boxes in WORLD TIDES but you will probably get some strange results if you do.

How strange? If you check all 35 boxes you will see the amplitude of some of the main
constituents increase by a factor of 100 or more compared to a basic analysis with five
constituents. Even though this choice may explain a large portion of the variance in the
present data, it is far from realistic as you would quickly see if you saved these constants
and tried to make future predictions with them.

The 3-day Plot - During analysis, the 3-day plot feature in the gray frame on the upper left
side of the page can be very helpful. Like the main plot that appears after pressing the
ANALYZE button, the 3-day plot uses Julian days to display time and select a time
interval for plotting (the corresponding calendar date is also displayed for convenience).
The 3-day plot of observed (red), predicted (blue) and residual (green) water level gives a
wave-by-wave view showing how well the tidal harmonic model fits the data. Obviously,
the fit is very good if the residual is almost a flat line. However, when it isnt and the blue
curve starts showing double peaks when the red curve has only single peaks, this may be a
further indication of the problem of trying too many tidal constituents with too little data.

Of course another reason to use the 3-day plot is to investigate errors; e.g., dropped data
points, vertical datum shift, or a shift to incorrect times. The least squares algorithm used
in WORLD TIDES is not affected by small data gaps, provided the time remains correct.
This is one reason the data are entered in a multi-column spreadsheet you can check that
every water level reading is associated with the correct serial date and time (see Section 8.
ENTERING DATA WITH EXCEL). Although a short gap may be acceptable, the program
will still issue a warning if the number of observations found is less than the number
expected based on the series length specified and the calculated sampling rate. WORLD
TIDES determines sampling rate from the first two recorded sample times in the data series
(all times need to be correct but especially these two!).

Several tools are provided to assist the user in choosing constituents for inclusion in a
harmonic model of the astronomical tide. Rather than relying on any single one of these
tools, use them in combination while keeping the series length in mind. Following a brief
description of the available tools listed below, two examples of the recommended tidal
analysis procedure are presented to illustrate their use.
Using the Residual Periodogram - A special tool you will want to use in choosing each
constituent to include in a water level analysis is the residual periodogram. While not
infallible, the Fourier periodogram or line spectrum can often identify important tidal
constituents from energy peaks associated with specific frequencies representing
oscillations left out of the model left out but still present in the residual. For convenience,
both a high band periodogram (1 to 8 cpd) and a low band periodogram (0 to 3 cpd) are
provided. The high band periodogram is used most often for constituent identification; the
low band feature can be used to characterize subtidal oscillations that are usually
associated with meteorological forcing (wind stress, atmospheric pressure change). The
point to keep in mind is that having significant energy (variance) at subtidal frequencies
puts a cap on what you can achieve with an astronomical tide model no matter how many
constituents are used.

Using RMS Error and Percent Reduction in Variance - Two statistical parameters are
provided near the center of the Analysis page to assist the user in evaluating the degree of
success achieved by the model in representing the data. The RMS error, calculated as the
square root of the mean square difference between observed and predicted water levels, is
a measure of the expected error associated with an individual water level prediction. The
Percent Reduction in Variance (%R_Var) is the percentage of the total variance in water
level explained by the astronomical tide model. Ideally, inclusion in the model of any one
constituent suggested by the periodogram should result in a noticeable decrease in RMS
error combined with an increase in %R_Var. Again, if the data are taken from a region
with strong meteorological forcing in relation to the tidal regime, you may be unable to
achieve either a high %R_Var or a low RMS error.

Using Constituent Amplitude and Phase Estimates - After conducting an analysis with a
new tidal constituent added to the model, first check the amplitude found for that
constituent in the listbox at the bottom of the page. It should exceed at least one percent of
the largest major constituent amplitude. More importantly for a short series, it should not
cause another constituent at an adjacent frequency to change either its amplitude or phase
by more than a few percent (K2 and S2 may be exceptions).

Analysis in Stages - To proceed with an analysis, work in stages starting with the high
band periodogram and the five major constituents (O1, K1, N2, M2, S2) as Stage I. Use the
MATLAB data cursor to obtain the frequency of the highest peaks in the periodogram,
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treating the y-coordinate, energy, as a relative measure . Proceed with the following steps:

1. Use the listbox at the top of the page to identify the constituent(s) that come closest
to matching the peak frequencies. In most cases, there wont be an exact match and
the Fourier frequencies of some peaks may fall midway between two tidal
frequencies nearby. In the latter case, analyze the constituents in separate stages.

2. Check the boxes of the constituents selected above as model candidates for Stage
II. Include constituents of different type classes (diurnal, semidiurnal, etc.) in one
stage but do not include several constituents within the same class that are adjacent
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In the absence of band-averaging, frequency intervals are small but energy estimation errors are large.
 in frequency. Look at the tidal form number to see which class is dominant (a low
form number means semidiurnal is dominant, high infers diurnal class dominance).

3. With the high band radiobutton on, press ANALYZE to begin Stage II.

4. Verify the constituent(s) selected as model candidates in the previous stage by

confirming 1) peak elimination in the residual periodogram, 2) appropriate size for
the resulting constituent amplitude, 3) decreased RMS error, increased %R_Var.
Uncheck the constituent if it clearly fails any of these tests. Otherwise, the new
stage will be marked by a periodogram showing new residual peaks at a lower
energy level. To amplify the remaining peaks at each new stage, the y-coordinate
scale expands as the energy level drops.

5. Select constituent candidates as before for Stage III. Continue this process until all
constituents that can be successfully matched to a residual peak frequency are
found and included in the astronomical tide model.

When analyzing a short series (58 days or less), watch for signs of a failed resolution
between neighboring constituents on the frequency scale. This usually takes the form of a
large change in amplitude and phase for such constituents when analyzed jointly versus
separately. For tides of small range especially, avoid selecting a constituent that is very
close in frequency to one of the major constituents in a short series; e.g., T2 (1.9973 cpd)
and R2 (2.0027 cpd) adjacent to S2 (2.0000 cpd).

Seasonal Constituents Note the four data boxes on the left side of the analysis page with
zero values entered in blue. They allow you to manually enter an amplitude and phase for
the solar annual (Sa) and solar semiannual (Ssa) tide constituents if available for the tide
station supplying the data. These numbers are available for most primary tide stations in
the United States and can be applied at nearby stations as well. Otherwise, several years of
observations are required to determine Sa and Ssa, the so-called seasonal tides.

Vertical Datums Manual entries can also be made for Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT)
and Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT), two of the most commonly used vertical datums
outside the United States. The numbers entered will be saved with the tidal constants and
used in making tidal predictions (see Section 6. TIDE PREDICTIONS). Enter a negative
number for LAT to signify its offset below Mean Sea Level (MSL). Otherwise if the
number is left at zero, tide predictions will be made relative to MSL. It is also possible to
check the compute Datums box in the lower right corner of the page before pressing
ANALYZE for your final run. The program then performs 19 years of predictions
internally to find and display HAT and LAT relative to MSL. Caution: Select only the
minimum number of constituents for the final run if analyzing a short series (<58 days).

Tidal Form Number Obtained by dividing the sum of the amplitudes for O1 and K1 by
the sum for M2 and S2, the form number is an indicator of tidal type. Form numbers below
0.25 indicate a fully semidiurnal tidal regime, 0.25-1.5 mixed, mainly semidiurnal, 1.5-3.0
mixed, mainly diurnal and, if greater than 3.0, fully diurnal.
Example 1 - To get a feel for the use of the features described above, the reader can run a
29-day analysis of input file bally20040607.xls, a file containing water levels (in meters)
sampled at 5-minute intervals at a station near the entrance to the Shannon River, west
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coast of Ireland . After double clicking this file and getting the File ready for analysis
message in the databox, press the large ANALYZE button below the message. The
databox will then display the number of days in the file followed by the date and time of
the first record. A few seconds later a window graph and a pop-up message will appear.

The window graph displays the observed water level (red), the astronomic tide (blue) and
the residual (green) or difference between observed and predicted for the analyzed 29-day
series. The pop-up message appears because there is a data gap somewhere in the file
(8,340 records were found, 8,353 were expected). When this happens, we need to find out
why. Although the window graph displays the entire series, the gap is too small to be seen
there. Using the 3-day plot feature, the gap in question can be clearly seen mid-morning on
Julian day 173 (21-Jun-2004) at the point where the red curve abruptly shifts to the right
by one hour. This is a time shift rather than a simple data gap, an error that will have to be
corrected before proceeding with the analysis.

Although the 3-day plot confirms the error, the easiest way to locate it initially is to create
a test file in the Excel workbook with a duplicate serial date and time column that you
construct (see Section 8. ENTERING DATA WITH EXCEL). Once this is done, you can
scroll down the worksheet looking for the row in which the dates and times no longer
agree. An example of a test file can be found in the workbook bally20040607.xls. And
while you have the workbook open, drag the worksheet labeled Fixed_file left to the first
position in the workbook. This is a repaired file that allows us to proceed with the analysis.

After loading and reading the fixed file, run the analysis again with the high band
periodogram turned on. This time you should not see a warning message but there will be a
new graph containing a Fourier periodogram displaying two prominent peaks close
together in frequency. Using the MATLAB data cursor, click on the left peak. An x-axis
reading of 1.862 cpd should be visible. Clicking on the peak at right, 1.966 cpd should
appear (Appendix B, Figure 3). The first frequency falls midway between constituents 2N2
and MU2; The second midway between LAM2 and L2. For stage I of this file with the five
major constituents, RMS error starts at 0.138 m and %R_Var begins at 98.15%.

What we are dealing with now is a form of multivariate analysis. To monitor the variables
(constituent amplitude and phase) employed in a step-wise (stage) analysis you should
consider entering the amplitude and phase of all the constituents involved at each stage on
a separate worksheet. One has already been entered for you in the bally20040607 Excel
workbook just click on the tab labeled Stage Analysis. Here you will see that to include
all four of the constituents 2N2, MU2, LAM2, and L2 is not a good idea based on the large
changes in amplitude that result. Choosing one constituent for each peak in the
periodogram works much better. After selecting MU2 and LAM2, the RMS error is
reduced to 0.109 m and %R_Var is now 98.80 percent.

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Data supplied courtesy of the Irish Geological Survey, Dublin, Ireland.
In the next stage of the analysis, the first dominant peak suggests constituents Q1 and
RHO1 and the second one matches the quarter-diurnal constituent, M4. Referring again to
the Stage Analysis worksheet, RHO1 and M4 emerge as the most reasonable choices,
reducing the RMS error to 0.105 m and increasing %R_Var to 98.88 percent. In the final
stage, MNS2, K2, M3, MN4, MS4 and M6 are added, reducing RMS error to 0.100 m
and increasing %R_Var to 98.98 percent. Noting the change in amplitude and phase for S2
at this stage may surprise you, but in this instance it is clearly linked to relatively large
amplitude in the luni-solar semidiurnal constituent, K2. K2 is often one of the major
constituents in regions where the tide type is fully semidiurnal and the range is more than
two meters (the mean range at Ballyheige is approximately three meters). Normally the K2
peak is not pronounced in a short series because of its proximity to S2 on the periodogram
frequency scale (S2 is included at the outset as one of the major constituents). If in doubt,
it doesnt hurt to add K2 and conduct a trial analysis as part of a later stage.

SAVE - During the course of the above four stages, the peak energy shown in the
-3 -5
periodogram falls by two orders of magnitude from about 2 x 10 to about 3 x 10
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m /cpd. At this point we may enter a name and save the 15 constituents selected in a tidal
constants file (e.g., Ballyheige_MSL indicating that no offset from MSL was used).

Example 2 This example involves a 29-day analysis of water levels from the Chesapeake
Bay Bridge Tunnel at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the United
States. The file named cbbt20021101.xls was obtained from the NOAA Tides & Currents
web site and features processed 6-minute water level data reported at hourly intervals for
30 days. As with the previous example, a stage analysis for this file can be found on a
separate worksheet in the Excel workbook. Tidal type here is mixed, mainly semidiurnal.

Analysis in stages yields 13 constituents for this file (Q1, O1, M1, K1, J1, OO1, MNS2,
MU2, N2, M2, L2, S2 and K2) but, unlike example 1, the resulting model accounts for
only 71.33 percent of the variance in water level. The reason why can be clearly seen in the
residual curve for the window plot of the 29-day series. During this particular month, a
subtidal oscillation was present at the bay entrance whose amplitude at times exceeded the
amplitude of the astronomical tide. If you switch to the low band periodogram, you will
see a single large peak at a frequency of 0.2069 cpd or, taking the inverse, 4.83 days per
cycle the peak period of the subtidal oscillation shown in the window plot. Although a
longer analysis would improve estimates of harmonic constituents such as S2 and K2 in
the astronomical tide model, its a drop in the bucket compared to the subtidal change.

Sa and Ssa The NOAA Tides & Currents web site, http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/,
provides amplitude and phase information for the solar annual (Sa) and solar semiannual
(Ssa) constituents. These values can be found on the Harmonic Constants worksheet in
file cbbt20021101.xls. Enter them in the data boxes indicated on the left side of the
Analysis page.

Print to file After checking the enable print to file check box, the next pressing of the
ANALYZE button will save a listing of the observed, predicted and residual water levels
in a text file with the same name as the input .xls file but with the .txt extension.
SAVE When you are satisfied with your analysis and the set of tidal constants selected,
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the results can be saved in a MATLAB data file by entering a file name (without the .mat
extension) in the data entry box in the lower left corner and pressing SAVE.

Special Features Providing tidal constants for tide predictions (Section 6) is just one
application that the WORLD TIDES: Analysis program is well suited for. It is especially
useful for informative graphs displaying monthly water level histories at active monitoring
stations. It is now common to see a near real time plot from NOAA stations on the web;
plots typically covering the past three days and conveying the information that observed
water levels are trending above or below predicted levels. A monthly plot can add value to
this product by displaying monthly and weekly variations in tidal range in relation to non-
tidal events such as a transient storm surge (seen in the residual curve). Only after viewing
the phase relationships between the storm surge peak and the nearest peak and range of the
astronomical tide can one understand why the resulting storm tide reached the height that it
did. An example history for Hurricane Isabel is shown in Figure 4, Appendix B.

Preset constituent selection - To avoid having to check multiple constituent symbol boxes
each time the user repeats a tidal analysis, a worksheet named tidecn can be added to the
Excel file after the first worksheet containing the water level data. This worksheet must
contain the list of symbols for WORLD TIDES 37 tidal constituents (including Sa and
Ssa) in the first column of the tidecn worksheet in order of increasing frequency moving
downward. Enter the amplitude and phase of Sa and Ssa, if known, in the second and third
columns; otherwise enter zeros. For the remaining constituents, enter 1 or 0 in the
second column to indicate symbols to be automatically checked or unchecked once the file
has been loaded; enter a zero in the third column. An example worksheet can be found in
Excel file HRVA2006m.xls.

Tidal datums To display the position of vertical datums on monthly (30-day) water level
plots, enter datum elevations in a new worksheet named datums, placing this tab in any
position after the first worksheet in the Excel file. Two formats are allowed as follows:

U.S. format Non-U.S. format

Datum Elev.(ft) Datum Elev.(m)
plotmax 6.00 plotmax 3.00
HAT 3.53 HAT 2.47
MHHW 2.76 MSL 0.00
MSL 1.35 STND 0.00
MLLW 0.00 LAT -2.51
LAT -0.69 plotmin -3.00
plotmin -2.00

STND is the station datum or the zero point of the measurement scale in use (in feet or
meters). If MSL in relation to the station datum is unknown, it should be set to zero.

WEB services See USING WEB SERVICES WITH WORLDTIDES document

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The variables stored in this file may be examined using the MATLAB load command.
 6. TIDE PREDICTIONS

From the main page of WORLD TIDES, click on Tide Prediction. This will bring up the
Prediction page (Appendix B, Figure 5) with another listbox in the upper right corner with
the names of tidal constituent files created with the SAVE button on the Analysis page. As
examples, two MATLAB data files of type .mat should appear from the Ballyheige and
Chesapeake Bay analyses described in Section 5. Double click on either one to start.

After double clicking on a file, the analysis date (year and Julian day starting) is displayed
in the databox. If you would like to see the symbols of the constituents used, click on
Tidal Constituents in the menu bar above. Your next choice is to set the month and year of
the predictions wanted along with the units desired units that can be different from those
of the water level data analyzed to obtain the tidal constants. Other radio buttons turn on a
plot grid and allow a change from Local Standard Time (LST) to Local Daylight Time
(LDT) it is assumed that LST was used during analysis. Pressing the large PREDICT
button will then populate the calendar matrix at left with the days of the month and year
selected. A daily, weekly or monthly plot of the predicted tide is displayed after pressing
the appropriate button.

Printing to a file - The enable print to file check box below PREDICT allows the user to
print 12-minute tidal height predictions to a text file for the month and year selected. If the
year box is also checked, predictions are printed for the year selected using a 30-minute
prediction interval. Note: Excel serial date and time is printed for each height value. To
convert these to calendar date and time, copy the file to an Excel worksheet and use the
cell format command (see Section 8. ENTERING DATA WITH EXCEL).

Predicted tidal height distributions: Percentiles - To display a histogram of predicted tidal

heights as a percentage of total time, check the histogram box before pressing PREDICT.
A cumulative curve will appear with percentile markings for the heights that are equaled or
exceeded 20%, 50% and 80% of the time for the month selected. If the year box is also
checked, the percentages refer to total time for the year selected.

Predicted tidal height distributions: LAT and HAT estimates If the tidal constants file
selected does not contain a vertical datum offset (i.e., MSL-LAT=0.0), the histogram of
predicted tidal heights will display the lowest astronomical tide (LAT) and the highest
astronomical tide (HAT) for the month or year selected (Appendix B, Figure 6). Final
estimates of LAT and HAT for use as reference datums can be found using the Analysis
program (see Vertical Datums, Section 5, page 8).

Predicted tidal height distributions: HAT estimate If the tidal constants file selected does
contain a vertical datum offset (i.e., MSL-LAT>0.0), the histogram of predicted tidal
heights will reference heights above LAT and display the highest astronomical tide (HAT)
for the month or year selected. Why HAT? Although generating most tidal height
predictions relative to HAT would be confusing due to largely negative numbers, HAT is a
good vertical reference for comparing storm tide peaks (see Section 7). HAT marks the
extreme upper limit of the astronomical tide for a given time and place and its contour
against the shore is often visibly marked (e.g., algal lines on rocks and piles). Normal tides
will reach this contour in most, but not all years. And by using HAT as a reference, we can
compare extratidal water levels between locations that have different tidal ranges.

7. ANALYZING STORM SURGE AND STORM TIDES

Storm tides are water levels made higher by the superposing of astronomical tides with
storm surge, the transient change in water level resulting from the effects of a storm. In the
United States, the term storm surge is used most often in connection with hurricanes and
tropical storms, although tropical depressions and extra tropical storms or northeasters
produce damaging storm surge as well. WORLD TIDES is uniquely suited for conducting
post-storm investigations of storm surge it readily performs the task of separating the
storm surge from water level observations and shows the nature of its interaction with the
astronomical tide to produce the resulting water level extremes. An example from a NOAA
tide station at Yorktown, Virginia, is shown in Figure 7, Appendix B. It was created from a
WORLD TIDES 29-day analysis of Yorktown records following a visit by tropical
depression ERNESTO on 1 September, 2006.

Good timing this time - Figure 7 provides a good illustration of the importance of timing
between the arrival of the storm surge peak and the stage of the astronomical tide. As luck
would have it, the surge peak arrived much closer to low tide than high tide at Yorktown
on the morning of September 1. Luck chance may be a better word is involved again
as the surge happened to arrive during tropic tides evidenced by a strong diurnal inequality
in the daily highs, as Figure 7 clearly shows (tides are mixed, mainly semidiurnal in this
area). Thus the risk of an exceptional high storm tide was by no means spread evenly over
a 24-hour period given the possibility of the storm surge peak arriving at another time.

Tracking sea level change - Figure 7 demonstrates the utility of the MATLAB figure editor
in changing features such as scaling and labeling of figure axes, figure legends, line
thickness and many others if you want to make a special point. Figure 8, for example, is
identical to Figure 7 but sheds the green storm surge curve while adding dotted lines to
mark the MHHW vertical datum and monthly mean sea level (mmsl) for the 29-day lunar
month just analyzed. This allows another point to be made about the ERNESTO event: in
Figure 8 the current mmsl is not found midway between the MHHW and MLLW vertical
datums it is above MSL and located much closer to MHHW. This indicates that local sea
level change (the sea level anomaly), whether seasonal or long-term, is an important
factor in determining the risks we will face as future storms approach our coastline.

The case for MHHW, HAT - A final word about storm surge and storm tides. Many of us,
including the media, get these terms confused; e.g., reporting a 6-foot storm surge at
Yorktown, instead of the 6-foot storm tide that actually occurred. The storm surge from
ERNESTO, as shown in Figure 7, was approximately 4 feet. Part of the problem (the
author believes) is that the NOAA chart datum of MLLW is invariably used in referencing
water levels in the U.S. This certainly helps to avoid the confusion of dealing with negative
numbers but what if storm tides were reported in feet or meters above MHHW or highest
astronomical tide, HAT? As Figure 8 shows, the storm tide from ERNESTO would then
be about 3.4 feet above MHHW if reported this way. Not only would storm surge and
storm tide be numerically more similar, we would acknowledge that MHHW (or HAT) is
the more relevant datum for comparing storm tides along the waterfront. HAT in particular
marks the level where normal flooding from the astronomical tide ends and extreme
flooding from tides plus surge begins. Choosing either MHHW or HAT as the reference
for storm tides also allows better comparisons between a location with high tidal range
(Eastport, ME) and one with low tidal range (Gulfport, MS) by removing range as a factor.

8. ENTERING DATA WITH EXCEL

WORLD TIDE input files consist of an array of water level data entered on the first
worksheet of a Microsoft Excel workbook with file extension .xls. This is the ONLY file
type permitted in the file directory listbox shown in the upper right corner of the Analysis
page. Two separate formats are available for data entry:

A. Col. 1 - Record number, station number or Julian day (not used in calculations)
Col. 2 - Date in Excel month-day-year-time format (3/14/01 13:30)
Col. 3 Water level in feet or meters (Columns > 3 must be empty)

B. Col. 1 - Record number, station number or Julian day (not used in calculations)
Col. 2 - Date in Excel month-day-year format (3/14/01)
Col. 3 - Local Standard Time in Excel 24-hour time format (13:30)
Col. 4 Water level in meters or feet

A set of non-numeric column labels may be inserted as the first row of either array. Note
th
that a 4 column is not allowed when using format A.

One of the advantages of using Excel is that it can accept text as well as numeric data from
a variety of sources. For example, data that has been downloaded from an archive on the
World Wide Web can be copied to a file or taken directly from your computer screen by
highlighting the data and using the Windows copy command (A process sometimes
known as web scraping). Then, after inserting the copied material into a new worksheet
with the paste command, you can use the Excel text-to-columns command to parse the
text into columns. Excels numerous tools can then be used to arrange the data so that it
conforms to one of the above formats.

Prior to 2006, the format used by the online tide and current archives of the U.S. National
Ocean Service, U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
enabled immediate use of NOAA data after parsing; i.e., the calendar dates and times fell
into the columns shown in format B. above and conformed exactly to the Excel format. A
new format accompanying a new web page has unfortunately ruled out format B. for direct
entry of NOAA water level data. However, using format A is almost as fast as the
following paragraph explains:

Even if you have only the starting and ending dates and times for your data series, its easy
to construct a column of dates and times in a worksheet with the following steps:
 1. Highlight an empty column and convert it to a date category of type 3/14/01 13:30
using the Format Cells command.

2. Enter the starting date and time in, say, cell B2: e.g., 1/1/2006 0:00. Place the cursor
on the cell and note the reading 1/1/2006 12:00:00 AM in the upper display line.

3. Enter the formula =B2+1/(10*24) in cell B3. The cell will display 1/1/2006 0:06
as this particular formula specifies a time interval of 6 minutes assuming a sampling
rate of 10 readings per hour (1 reading per hour is the minimum that can be used).

4. Copy the formula in cell B3 to each of the cells below it until the ending date and
time is reached in the last row of the data. Splitting the screen into upper and lower
parts is helpful here. Use the small button at the top of the slider bar on the right.

Perhaps you already have date and time information downloaded with the other data on
your worksheet - but not in the form Excel requires. Inserting a second column with date &
time constructed as above is a good way to verify that the information is correct, removing
the downloaded column afterwards. WORLD TIDES counts the number of records in a file
and warns the user if the number is less than expected based on the sampling rate and
series length specified. While this warns of a data gap (not uncommon in water level data
sets), there can still be other problems, such as a time shift, which require closer inspection
of the file itself, aided by the 3-day plot feature described in Section 5.

After entering the water level data to be analyzed in the first worksheet of an Excel
workbook, insert header information about the data into a separate worksheet. If you copy
information from a web source, be careful not to include email addresses or links in blue.
 9. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. Why is the series length of 29 days given as the default on the Analysis page?

A. A synodic month of 29 days is the average interval between corresponding phases of the
moon, an interval significant for analysis purposes because it approximates a time when
the major tidal constituents each complete a whole number of cycles. More generally,
synodic period refers to the recurrence interval between successive conjunctions of like
phases of various lunar and solar constituents, yielding synodic periods of 14, 15, 29, 58,
87, 105, 134, 163, 192, 221, 250, 279, 297, 326, 355, and 369 days. Performing an analysis
with some other number of days as the series length is thought to introduce bias due to the
sampling of fractional cycles. With longer series, the exact length is less important.

Q. If 14 days is one of the synodic periods, why should I be concerned with the other
periods that require more data for analysis?

A. Just as two points determine a straight line, three points determine a single harmonic
term. The problem is, we will never get the right three points because of insufficient
precision, measurement error and other harmonic terms requiring more points. Although
the method of least squares with an excess of constituents may provide a convincing fit to
a very short data series, it is likely to fail in terms of making reasonable future predictions.
Avoid selecting too many tidal harmonic constituents to fit too few data points.

Q. Why are your tidal amplitudes and phases different from those given by NOAA for its
tide stations?

A. Constituent amplitude values obtained with WORLD TIDES do not contain a buildup
factor. NOAA increases the amplitude of certain constituents by a fixed percentage to
obtain better agreement between predicted and observed tidal extremes. Organizations with
legal responsibilities in the area of marine safety have reason to avoid under-predicting
tidal extremes, circumstances that may justify the use of buildup factors. On the other
hand, scientists and engineers attempting to simulate the behaviour of coastal estuaries are
often unaware that buildup factors have been applied when calibrating or verifying
hydrodynamic models with NOAA constituent data.

Constituent phase values obtained with WORLD TIDES are not comparable with the
phase values obtained by NOAA and other governmental organizations. WORLD TIDES
uses a single time origin (midnight beginning 31 December 1899) whereas conventional
tide and tidal current prediction systems change the time origin from one year to the next
using the equilibrium phase lag concept (phase lag of a given tidal constituent relative to
its hypothetical equilibrium phase). In an earlier age, it was necessity to generate lengthy
tables of equilibrium phase arguments for the Greenwich meridian, transferring these
arguments to other meridians through conversion formulas. WORLD TIDES simply
requires the user to adhere to a single time origin and use local time (Local Standard Time
is recommended) for analysis. It then calculates and applies corrections for the
nodal
(amplitude) factor f and the phase variation term u for the lunar constituents as these
parameters change from year to year during the 18.6-year cycle of the lunar nodes.

Q. Isnt the Response Method a better way to analyze and predict tides and tidal currents?

A. The response or admittance method described by W.H. Munk and D.E. Cartwright
(1966) begins with a cross-spectral analysis between the computed tidal potential and a
corresponding series of observations. The sea level or current spectrum is then separated
into a part that is coherent with the generating potential and a part consisting of noise.
The coherent part produces estimates of the oceanic admittance, which can be expressed as
an amplitude ratio and a phase lag. Comparisons between the response method and
harmonic methods have shown the former to give predictions that are more accurate but
with an improved reduction in variance that is small compared to variations in the
meteorological tide. Due to its complexity, it has never been used for routine tide table
5
and current table predictions .

Q. Why should I use Lowest Astronomical tide (LAT) rather than Mean Lower Low Water
(MLLW) as the vertical reference datum for predicted tides?

A. Both LAT and MLLW are offsets from Mean Sea Level (MSL). In the United States
and its territories, federal law gives NOAA the right to define MSL, MLLW and several
other vertical datums used primarily on nautical charts which it does by using a specific
19-year period termed the National Tidal Datum Epoch (NTDE) to calculate the averages
involved. Traditionally, 19-year averages have been used to account for variations in tidal
range over the 18.6-year lunar node cycle, rounding to 19 years to include a complete
annual cycle. NOAA then periodically revises the NTDE in response to sea level change
perceived at its various tide stations.

But is all this averaging really necessary? Using a 19-year average to account for sea level
change is arbitrary at best because no relationship is known to exist between tidal range
and mean sea level: sea level change within a range of lengthy periods related to ocean-
atmosphere interactions is arguably more important. Other organizations outside the U.S.
have chosen other means to track sea level and most now recognize that, however mean
sea level is defined, it is much more practical to determine a datum offset above or below it
using tidal harmonic analysis. A datum so defined is LAT, with the result that the predicted
tide never falls below it, yet it is not so low that unduly shallow depths result when it is
used as a chart datum. Similarly, Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT) is determined as the
vertical datum which the predicted tide by itself cannot exceed. And you dont have to wait
19 years to find it!

Q. How do you justify using time local tide predictions in lieu of the official tide
predictions by NOAA and other agencies to determine storm surge as the difference in
elevation between observed water levels and predicted tides?

5
D.E. Cartwright, 2000. Tides: A scientific history, Cambridge University Press, pp. 195-198.
A. The tide predictions that NOAA generates are normally based on a 369-day analysis of
water levels measured at its primary tide stations. While NOAA makes the tidal harmonic
constants from these analyses available to the public, it does not routinely publish the dates
for the measurement series used in the analysis. In the United Kingdom Hydrographic
Department, neither the tidal harmonic constants nor the dates of their determination for
major ports are public information. Even when a series is relatively recent, NOAA tide
predictions refer to the MSL tidal datum or one of the vertical datum offsets determined for
the current National Tidal Datum Epoch (NTDE), a 19-year series whose median age is
never less than a decade when the new values are released to the public. Thus a surge
determination using NOAA tide predictions requires yet another offset to account for sea
level change over a decade or more (the sea level anomaly) and the user generally does
not know the magnitude of the offset employed at any one time.

Conversely, time local tide predictions used in WORLD TIDES are based on tidal
behavior as it occurs during the same lunar month in which the storm surge of interest
occurs. This process can be thought of as eliminating the maximum variance (in the least
squares sense) that is present at tidal frequencies in the water level record (low pass filters
remove these same tides but much else besides not all storm surge energy winds up in the
subtidal band). The vertical reference for these predictions is monthly mean sea level
determined relative to the measurement datum (normally MLLW) for either a lunar month
(m29) or a calendar month (m30) according to the series length selected. Given the
elevation of the MSL datum above the measurement datum, WORLD TIDES clearly
displays the sea level anomaly for each monthly record as either the difference m29-MSL
or the difference m30-MSL.
 10. APPENDIX A

The Harmonic Model for the prediction of tides and tidal currents assumes that tidal
motion can be represented by the sum of a series of simple harmonic terms (tidal
constituents), each term being represented by an oscillation at a known frequency of
astronomical origin. While the astronomical frequencies associated with celestial motions
of the earth-moon-sun system are well known, the success of a harmonic model depends
entirely on the oceans response to extraterrestrial (gravitational) forcing at these same
frequencies, recognizing that oceans are free to respond at the same time to local
(meteorological) forcing. The equation for the harmonic model in this instance is:

h(t) h0
f j H cos( jt u 1
* j
j j1 j )

6
where t = time in serial hours , h(t) = predicted water level (water current) at t, h0 = mean
water level (water current), fj = lunar node factor for jth constituent, Hj = mean amplitude
for jth constituent over 18.6-year lunar node cycle, j = frequency of jth constituent, uj =
*
nodal phase for jth constituent, j = phase of jth constituent for the time origin in use
(midnight beginning December 31, 1899) and m = number of constituents. For purely solar
constituents, fj = 1 and uj = 0. Others are obtained by formula (see Doodson and Warburg,
1941, reprinted 1980; Schureman, 1958).

Harmonic analysis by the method of least squares (HAMELS) is a simple but powerful
*
means of obtaining tidal constituent amplitude (Hj) and phase (j ), the so-called tidal
harmonic constants needed for tidal predictions using equation (1). The least squares
criterion requires a solution for the harmonic constants that will produce the minimum
possible sum of squared differences for a series of observations ht of length n

[h
2
t h(t)] minimum
t 1

For this purpose, we rewrite equation (1) in the equivalent form

m m

h(t) A0 Aj cos jt B j sin (2)

j t
j1 j1

Bj
= fj Hj and j tan 1 = u . The unknowns A0, Aj,
*
where A0 = h0, R j
jA B 2
j
2

A
j
Bj in equation (2) are obtained by solving the general matrix equation for least squares
approximations:

C SSX 1SXY 3
6
Serial time is the fractional number of hours past a specified time origin as opposed to 24-hour solar time.
In the above, Cis a 2m+1 x 1 vector of unknowns, C 0 A1 B1 A2 B2 .. Am ' ,
A Bm with
SSX
X ' X
and
SXY
X ' Y
where

1 si.. s
cos n c i
1t o n
1 s
1

m m
t t
1

1 .. s
sin
cos co
ts i
t
t n

t

11m


m2
1 22 2 s
cs . i
X n
oi .
snc
o
1 s t
m

t1
3
3tm
3t
3
.. ..
..
.. ..
..
c s t
n
o i n
1s n

1
1

1
 .. cosmtn sin mt n s algebra
i in tide
n and
a ( tidal
n Y h3 .. is a vector containing n observations. The
'
w current
d h1 h2 hn prime symbol used in ( analysis
these equations indicates the transpose of a matrix or vector j .
whereas the unit negative exponent indicates the inverse of )
the 2m+1 x 2m+1 square matrix, SSX . Note also that, *
while there is a term representing the mean in equation (1), t
there is no term representing a linear trend (or portion of a )
long-period oscillation that appears as a trend in the data). It
is therefore advisable to de-trend the observations prior to ]
analysis. ;

MATLAB requires only five lines of m-code to perform e

least squares harmonic analysis for m constituents given a n
7
data vector Y consisting of n observations : d
A =
X (X*X)
= \
(X*Y) 7
o ; The
n backslash
operator \
e See in line 5
s Boon performs
( (2004, left-matrix
n pp. division in
, MATLAB.
153-
1 166)
) for
; more
infor
f matio
o n
r conce
rning
j comp
utatio
= nal
metho
1 ds and
: the
m applic
X= ation
[X of
cos(w(j) matri
*t) x
2
 11. APPENDIX B

12.

Figure 1. WORLD TIDES Analysis Page.

bally20040607.xls: 29-day analysis

2
O1 K1 N2 M2 S2
observed
1.5 predicted residual

0.5

Wa
Lev 0
(me -0.206
-0.5

-1

-1.5

-2

-2.5

-3
155 160 165 170 175 180 185 190
Julian Day 2004

Figure 2. Analyzed water level at Ballyheige (series mean level: -0.206m).

 -3
bally20040607.xls - Residual Periodogram
2.5 x 10

X: 1.966
Y: 0.00186
2

1.5
En
er
gy
1

0.5

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Frequency(cycles per day)

Figure 3. High Band Periodogram.

Hampton Roads (Sewells Point), VA

8 observed
XHW = 4.36
astronomic residual

7
Hurricane Isabel 18 September 2003
6

Wa
Level4
(fee 3.53 HAT
3
2.76 MHHW
2.27 m30
2

1.35 MSL
1

0 0.00 MLLW

-0.69 LAT
-1

Water levels from U.S. National

-2 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
2003/08/28 2003/09/02 2003/09/07 2003/09/12 2003/09/17 2003/09/22 2003/09/27 2003/10/02

Figure 4. Water level History for Hampton Roads, VA, September, 2003.
 Figure 5. WORLD TIDES Prediction Page.
Ballyheige MSL 2006

100
LAT = -2.47
90

80 >-1.1
Frequen
y (pe70
of t
tim 60

50 >-0.082

40

30

20 >0.957

10
HAT = 2.44
0
-3 -2.4 -1.8 -1.2 -0.6 0 0.6 1.2 1.8 2.4 3
Height above MSL (meters)
Figure 6. WORLD TIDES Height-Frequency Histogram for Ballyheige, Ireland.
 6
storm tide astronomical tide storm surge
Yorktown, VA mmsl (lunar)

5
Wate
Lev
(fe
abo
4
MLLW)

0
8/31 9/1 9/2 9/3

Figure 7. Storm tide and storm surge at Yorktown, VA,

Tropical depression ERNESTO, 1-Sep-2006.

6
storm tide
Yorktown, VA astronomical tide

5
Wate
Lev
(fe
abo
4
MLLW) 3.38 ft

3
MHHW

2
mmsl

0 MLLW
8/31 9/1 9/2 9/3

Figure 8. Yorktown storm tide referred to 1983-2001 MHHW

Tropical depression ERNESTO, 1-Sep-2006.
 13. REFERENCES

Bloomfield, P., 1976. Fourier Analysis of Time Series: An Introduction. John Wiley &
Sons, New York, 258 pp.

Boon, J.D., 2004. Secrets of the Tide: Tide and Tidal Current analysis and Predictions,
Storm surges and Sea Level Trends. Horwood Publishing, Chichester, U.K.
212 pp.

Cartwright, D.E., 2000. Tides: A scientific history. Cambridge University Press, 292pp.

Doodson, A.T. and H.D. Warburg, 1944. Admiralty Manual of Tides. Admiralty
Charts and Publications, London, England, 270 pp.

Munk, W.H. and D.E. Cartwright, 1966. Tidal Spectroscopy and Prediction. Phil.
Trans. Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical
Sciences, Vol. 259, No. 1105, pp. 533-581.

Pugh, David T., 2004. Changing Sea Levels: Effects of Tides, Weather and Climate.
Cambridge University Press, 265 pp.

Schureman, P., 1958. Manual of Harmonic Analysis and Prediction of Tides. U.S.
Dept of Commerce, Coast and Geodetic Survey. Special Publication No. 98,
Washington, D.C., 317 pp.