ERDC/CHL CHETN-I-??

August 2007

Tidal Analysis and Prediction of Tides:

TAPtides
By John D. Boon and Alejandro Sanchez

PURPOSE: The Coastal and Hydraulic Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) herein
describes the desktop computer program TAPtides for the Tidal Analysis and Prediction
of water levels in tidal waterways. Designed to be 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.

INTRODUCTION: 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 analysis,
not least the breakdown of observed water level variation into its tidal and non-tidal parts.

In many cases, little information is available to users on the length, quality or age of the
water level time series used to estimate tidal constants. Predictions for coastal waterways
that have undergone significant hydrologic change (storms, dredging activity) may be
subject to errors resulting from outdated measurements. The software presented here
gives users the ability to make tidal harmonic predictions where suitable data are
available for calculating the tidal harmonic constituents.

TAPtides is the ideal package to explore and develop preliminary or 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 TAPtides. Comprehensive references such as Cartwright (2000) and
Pugh (2004) are highly recommended for this purpose, as is Boon (2004) for a practical
introduction.

INSTALLATION: To run TAPtides the MATLAB Component Runtime (MCR) program

must first be installed using the MCRInstaller provided with the application package.
When installing SMS select the option to install TAPtides and TAPcurrents. After
unzipping the package in a working directory, right-click the TAPtides program icon to
create a shortcut and place it on your desktop. Run the application by double-clicking on
the icon: This will create a new folder with the required MCR programs.
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TAPtides is programmed in the MATLAB® technical computing language, a product of

The MathWorks, Inc. The present program is compatible personal computers with the
MS Windows operating system (Windows XP).

OVERVIEW: The TAPtides menu has two options Tidal Analysis and Tidal Prediction.
The last two buttons launch programs to conduct water level analysis (TIDAL
ANALYSIS) and generate tide predictions respectively (CHOOSING TIDAL
CONSTITUENTS, TIDAL PREDICTION). The analysis portion of the software accepts
several file types (see INPUT FILES). The files used in this CHETN are automatically
downloaded during the installation process and are located within the TAPtides folder
which is located in the SMS directory. The tidal prediction portion of the software
requires tidal constituents (amplitudes and phases of individual tidal components) from
the tidal analysis program.

TIDAL ANALYSIS: The method used by TAPtides 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 B. For a complete description of the least squares harmonic analysis method
employed here, the reader is referred to Boon (2004).

It is preferable to use the term water level analysis, rather than 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 static 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. To perform a water level harmonic analysis, click on
the ‘Tidal Analysis’ button within the TAPtides window.

Clicking the Tidal Analysis button within the SMS menu Tools|Harmonic Analysis starts
the GUI page that performs tide analysis (see Figure 1). It is recommended that the user
click on the Disclaimer menu at the top of the window and read the disclaimer message
before proceeding. Click the Program Help menu immediately to the left of the
Disclaimer button to view information about input files, file analysis, selection of tidal
constituents and other topics.

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Figure 1. TAPtides Analysis Page.

The analysis occurs in two steps:

1. Settings and File Selection: Enter time series length (in days) and water level units
(meters or feet). If the series length is left empty the total duration of the imported file
will be used. If a number is entered that is larger than the input series length, a warning
message will occur and the series length will be reduced automatically. Select a data file
for analysis using the appropriate press button in the upper right corner of the page.
Pressing a button will open a file browser displaying only files of the indicated type (MS
Excel files with .xls extension or ascii text files with .tsd extension). Select a file and
press the open button in the browser. If the print log enabled box is checked, a text file
will be generated containing the parameters selected and other information from the
analysis.

2. Analysis: After the file is loaded, the message File ready for analysis will appear in the
data box directly below the file selection buttons and the large Analyze button will turn
green Pressing the ANALYZE button will start the analysis. The number of days in the file
selected will be briefly displayed in the data box, followed by the date and time of the
first record in the file and the file name. 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 (Figure 2). A list box at the bottom of the page displays
the tidal constants (amplitude and phase) computed for all five constituents.

The check boxes in the center of the window indicate the tidal constituents available for
harmonic analysis. Initially, only five major constituents are activated (shown in red

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text). The first five are always selected but the thirty others should be thought of as
potential constituents that may be included in subsequent rounds of analysis. To include
additional constituents, click on the check boxes for individual constituents and press the
ANALYZE button. Selecting the proper constituents is explained in the next section.

For a relatively short time series of water levels (29 days to 58 days), there are limits to
the number of constituents that can be used in a harmonic analysis. In general, the
difficulty caused by short time series arises from the resolution of certain constituents
that are close to others in frequency (consult the list box at the top of the Analysis page
for a list of available constituents and their frequency). The main solar semidiurnal
constituent S2, for example, has a frequency of exactly 2 cycles per mean solar day (cpd);
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. The
minimum series duration T necessary to fully resolve two tidal frequencies f1 and f2 is
given by T =1/|f1-f2|, the synodic period. The synodic period for S2 and K2, for example,
is 1/0.0055 or 181.8 days. Another important aspect to consider is the number of
constituents chosen to model the tide. The user should start with the default constituents
and choose additional constituents on the basis of their ability to reduce residual variance
without violating the synodic period rule. Likely candidates will be found using the high
band periodogram to examine the total distribution of variance (energy) with frequency.
The periodogram feature is further explained below.

Three-day Plot - During analysis, the three-day plot feature in the gray frame on the
upper left side of the TAPtides window may be used to closely examine three-day periods
of the time series. Like the main plot which appears after pressing the ANALYZE button,
the 3-day plot uses Julian days to display time (the corresponding calendar date is also
displayed for convenience). The three-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. A flat residual line indicates a good fit. If the predicted
(blue) curve shows double peaks where the observed (red) curve only has single peaks,
this may be an indication that too many tidal constituents are being used.

Another good reason to use the three-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 TAPtides is not affected by small data gaps (provided the time stamping remains
correct). 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 based on the first two recorded sample
times in the data series.

Additional Tools - 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, the user should 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.

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Residual Periodogram – The residual periodogram is a line spectrum depicting the

distribution of residual (measured minus predicted) energy at the Fourier frequencies.
Fourier frequencies are multiples of the fundamental frequency 1/T and thus may not
coincide with the tidal frequencies which, with the exception of the overtides (S4, S6,
M4, M6, M8), are not multiples of any given frequency. However, with increasing series
length Fourier frequencies become more numerous and bandwidth decreases, resulting in
closer approximations to tidal frequencies. Using the data cursor in the MATLAB figure
containing the high band periodogram (1-8 cpd), the user can determine the frequencies
associated with the highest spectral peaks and look for the closest match to one of the
tidal frequencies shown in the list box at the top of the analysis page, checking the
appropriate box for the constituent indicated. At this point the user should consider each
new constituent as only a candidate for inclusion in the tidal model, to be verified in
subsequent analysis. Note that much of the residual variance displayed in any one
periodogram may well be due to non-tidal meteorological forcing.

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 well-suited for
examining intertidal energy associated with transient events (e.g., storm surge). The low
band feature can be used to examine subtidal oscillations that are usually associated with
low frequency extratropical forcing. Subtidal energy (variance) in particular can be large
compared to the tidal energy at certain locations. In those instances harmonic analysis
will account for a low percentage of the total variance regardless of the number of tidal
constituents used. Likewise the harmonic model of the tide cannot be deemed to have
“failed” for this reason since it is designed to predict only the water level change
occurring at tidal frequencies.

RMS Error and Percent Reduction in Variance - Two statistical parameters are provided
near the center of the Analysis window 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, it will not be possible to
achieve either a high %R_Var or a low RMS error.

Constituent Amplitude and Phase Estimates - After conducting an analysis with a new
tidal constituent added to the model, the user should check the amplitude found for that
constituent in the list box at the bottom of the Analysis window. 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). When
this occurs, it indicates that the harmonic model derived will yield erroneous future
predictions even though the present fit to the observed water level data appears good in
all other respects.

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Tidal Form Number –This number indicates the relative dominance of semidiurnal and
diurnal tides. It is calculated as F = (K1+O1)/(M2+S2) where the constituent names
represent their respective amplitudes. The tides can be described as semidiurnal for
F<0.25, mixed semidiurnal for 0.25>F>1.5, mixed diurnal for 1.5>F>3.0, and diurnal for
F>3.0.

Analysis in Stages - To proceed with an analysis, the user should work in stages starting
with the five major constituents (O1, K1, N2, M2, S2), as Stage I. After pressing the
radiobutton to select the high band periodogram, proceed with the following steps:
1. Using the data cursor, identify the peak frequencies shown in the residual
periodogram and match them to the nearest tidal frequency shown in the list box.
In most cases, the Fourier frequencies will not match the tidal frequencies exactly
for the reasons previously given
2. Check the boxes of constituent(s) selected above as candidates for Stage II.
Constituents of different type classes (diurnal, semidiurnal, etc.) may be included
in one stage but several constituents within the same class that are adjacent in
frequency should not be included together.
3. With the high band radiobutton remaining 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 as displayed in the lowermost list box, (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), look for signs of poor 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, selecting a constituent that is very close in
frequency to one of the major constituents in a short series should be avoided; e.g., T2
(1.9973 cpd) and R2 (2.0027 cpd) adjacent to S2 (2.0000 cpd).

Seasonal Constituents – The Analysis window contains four data boxes on the left side
with zero values entered in blue. They allow the user to manually enter an amplitude and
phase for the solar annual (Sa) and solar semiannual (Ssa) tide constituents (optional).
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 – TAPtides analysis adopts the vertical reference of the user’s data in all
of its calculations. TAPtides predictions are normally made relative to mean sea level
(MSL) but provide the option of generating predictions relative to Lowest Astronomical
Tide (LAT), a tidal datum commonly used outside the United States. Unlike other tidal

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datums that require a lengthy tabulation of observed high and low water heights, LAT is
derived as the lowest predicted tide over a 19-year lunar node cycle and thus depends
entirely on the accepted tidal constants for the station involved. A similar datum, Highest
Astronomical Tide (HAT), is derived as the highest predicted tide over the same interval.
Both datums are computed as offsets from MSL. The numbers appearing in the datum
offset boxes on the analysis page are saved with the tidal constants used in making tidal
predictions (see TIDE PREDICTIONS). If the blue numbers that initially appear are left
at zero, tidal predictions will be generated relative to MSL; otherwise, by entering a
negative number to indicate its offset below MSL, predictions will be made relative to
LAT. To obtain offsets, check the compute Datums box in the lower right corner of the
page before clicking on the ANALYZE button for the final analysis. When this box is
checked the program internally performs 19 years of predictions to find and display the
HAT and LAT offsets relative to MSL. Caution: Use a water level record of at least 180
days duration to obtain tidal constants for reliable datum determinations.

Example Data Sets – Two example data sets are presented below. Both contain water
levels record in meters, the default setting for TAPtides analysis. The edit box appearing
above the units selection will initially appear blank. After the input file has been selected
and read, the number of days available in the file will be displayed. The user may change
this setting to a lesser number but not less than 14 days.

Example 1 – Ballyheige, Ireland: The first example is from Ballyheige, a town at the
entrance to the Shannon River in western Ireland (bally20040607.xls). To get a feel for
the use of the features described above, the reader can run a 30-day analysis of input file
bally20040607.xls which contains water levels sampled at 5-minute intervals at
Ballyheige1. After selecting this file the data box will display the number of days in the
file followed by the date and time of the first record and the file name. After it has turned
green, press the ANALYZE button to begin the analysis.

A window graph will appear displaying the observed water level (red), the astronomic
tide (blue) and the residual (green) or difference between observed and predicted.. A
pop-up message should also appear indicating a data gap within the file (8,340 records
found, 8,353 expected). Whenever this message is seen, the cause should be sought by
examining the input file. The gap in this example is too small to be seen in the 30-day
plot. Using the 3-day plot feature, the gap 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 and it means that all of the times
past this point must be reduced by one hour. To skip the correction and proceed with the
analysis, open the Excel file and move the worksheet labeled ‘Fixed_file’ to the first
position in the example workbook.

1
Data supplied courtesy of the Irish Geological Survey, Dublin, Ireland.

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bally20040607.xls: 29-day analysis

2
O1 K1 N2 M2 S2
observed
1.5 predicted
residual
1

0.5
Water Level (meters)

0
-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).

After loading and reading the fixed file, run the analysis again with the high band
periodogram turned on. A Fourier periodogram will appear displaying two prominent
peaks at adjacent frequencies. Using the data cursor, click on the left peak. An x-axis
reading of approximately 1.862 cpd should be visible. Clicking on the peak to the right,
1.966 cpd should appear (Figure 3). The first frequency falls midway between
constituents 2N2 and MU2; The second midway between LAM2 and L2. For the first
stage of analysis with the five major constituents, the RMS error will read ±0.138 m and
the percent reduction in variance (%R_Var) should read 98.15.

Tidal harmonic analysis is a form of multivariate analysis. To monitor the variables

(constituent amplitude and phase) employed in a step-wise (stage) analysis the user
should consider entering the amplitude and phase of all the constituents involved at each
stage on a separate worksheet. One has already been entered in the bally20040607.xls file
(tab labeled Stage Analysis). Selecting all four constituents 2N2, MU2, LAM2, and L2
produces a large change in the tidal amplitudes indicating that this choice is unacceptable
for a series of this length. Choosing the one constituent near each peak with the greatest
amplitude will produce a better result. After selecting MU2 and LAM2, the RMS error is
reduced to ±0.109 m and %R_Var is increased to 98.80 percent.

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,

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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 be surprising to some users, 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 spectral peak is not pronounced in a short series because of its
proximity to S2 which is included at the outset as one of the major constituents.

-3 bally20040607.xls - Residual Periodogram

x 10
2.5

X: 1.966
2 Y: 0.00186

1.5
Energy

0.5

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

Figure 3. High Band Periodogram.

SAVE - During the course of the above four stages, the peak energy shown in the
periodogram falls by two orders of magnitude – from about 2 x 10-3 to about 3 x 10-5
m2/cpd. At this point we may enter a name and save the 15 constituents selected in a tidal
constants file (e.g., Ballyheige_MSL to indicate that no offset from MSL was used).

Example 2 Chesapeake Bay, USA – The second example is from a water level station at
the Chesapeake Bay entrance (cbbt20021101.xls) courtesy of the U.S. National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This example also involves a 30-day analysis
of water levels. The file named cbbt20021101.xls was obtained from the NOAA Tides &
Currents web site and includes hourly water level data for 30 days beginning November
1, 2002. 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.

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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 30-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. Switching to the low band periodogram, a peak
frequency is shown at 0.2069 cpd (period = 4.83 days). Although a longer analysis would
improve estimates of harmonic constituents such as S2 and K2 in the astronomical tide
model, the increase in %R_Var would be small compared to the subtidal energy.

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, pressing the ANALYZE
button will save a listing of the observed, predicted and residual water levels in a text file
(*.txt) with the same name as the input Excel file.

SAVE –Once, a satisfactory tidal analysis is obtained, the results may be saved in a
binary MATLAB data file2 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 water level predictions is one application
of TAPtides. It is also useful for informative graphs displaying monthly water level
histories at active monitoring stations. Water levels in near real time are now routinely
displayed at NOAA PORTS stations on the web. These contain plots typically covering
the past three days showing whether 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 appearing in the residual curve. An example of a monthly plot is shown in Figure 4,
at the Hamptons Roads, VA water level station during Hurricane Isabel. The observed
water levels are shown in red, the fitted astronomical tides in blue, and the residuals
containing the storm surge component in green. These figures are useful in understanding
the extreme storm tides that result from the superposition of storm surge and
astronomical tides.

2
The variables stored in this file may be examined using the MATLAB load command.

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Hampton Roads (Sewells Point), VA

8 observed
XHW = 4.36
astronomic
residual
7

6 Hurricane Isabel

5
Water Level (feet)

4
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 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
-2
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.

TIDAL PREDICTIONS: The TAPS window for performing tidal harmonic predictions
of water levels may be opened from the SMS interface by clicking on the Data menu and
then selecting Tidal Predictions | Water Levels. The window will display a list box in the
upper right corner with the names of tidal constituent files created from previous Tidal
Harmomic Analysis. As examples, two MATLAB data files (extension .mat) should
appear from the Ballyheige and Chesapeake Bay analyses described in Section 5. Double
click on either one to start.

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Figure 5. TAPtides prediction page.

After double clicking on a file, the file name and analysis date (year and Julian day
starting) is displayed in the data box. Set the month and year of the required predictions
along with the units desired (these units are independent of the units used in TAPtides
analysis). Check boxes are available to turn on a plot grid and allow a change from Local
Standard Time (LST) to Local Daylight Time (LDT) always assuming 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 the PREDICT button 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. Excel calendar date and time is printed for each
height value.

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 the
PREDICT button. A cumulative curve will appear with percentile markings for the
heights that are equaled or exceeded 20, 50 and 80 percent of the time for the month
selected. If the year box is also checked, the percentages refer to total time for the year
selected.

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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 (Figure 6). Final estimates of
LAT and HAT for use as reference datums can be found using the Analysis program (see
Vertical Datums).

Ballyheige MSL 2006

100
LAT = -2.47
90

80 >-1.1
Frequency (percent of total time)

70

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. TAPtides height-frequency histogram for Ballyheige, Ireland.

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. 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. 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, one can compare
“extratidal” water levels between locations that have different tidal ranges.

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. TAPtides is uniquely suited for conducting post-storm

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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. It was created from a
TAPtides 29-day analysis of Yorktown records following a visit by tropical depression
ERNESTO on 1 September, 2006.

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. The peak storm surge
occurred much closer to low tide than high tide at Yorktown on the morning of
September 1. The storm surge occurred during tropic tides evidenced by a strong diurnal
inequality in the daily highs (Figure 7). The 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-hr period given the possibility of the storm surge peak arriving at another time.
Figure 7 demonstrates the utility of the MATLAB figure editor in changing features such
as scaling and labeling of figure axes, figure legends, and line thickness

6
Yorktown, VA storm tide
astronomical tide
storm surge
Water Level (feet above MLLW)

5
mmsl (lunar)

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

Figure 7. Storm tide and storm surge at Yorktown, VA, Tropical depression ERNESTO,
1-Sep-2006.

INPUT FILES: The TAPtides analysis tool accepts two file types containing input water
level time series. The first is a Microsoft Excel Workbook (*.xls) or TAP Excel File. The
web services utility, described in Appendix A, allows users to directly download water
level data from active NOAA stations and output the data in TAP Microsoft Excel
Worksheet files. The second file format allowed in TAP is the SMS Time Series Data file
(*.tsd) or tsd file. The Time Series Data files are useful file format because they can
easily be imported into SMS for viewing, model forcing and comparison with model
results. Other file formats such as the SMS XY Series files and generic ASCII files may

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be converted to TAP Excel files or tsd files using the utility Filter1D also provided and
optional installation software in SMS 10.1+.

TAP Microsoft Excel Worksheet. These files consist of an array of water level data
entered on the first worksheet of a Microsoft Excel workbook (*.xls). The first line of the
worksheet is reserved as a header line usually used to describe data columns. Two
separate formats are available for data entry in the subsequent rows:
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
that a 4th column is not allowed when using format A.

Additional metadata such as instrument type, location etc. should be stored in separate
worksheets.

Pre-set constituent selection - To avoid having to check multiple constituent symbol

boxes each time the user repeats a tidal analysis, a worksheet named tidecn may be added
to the Excel file after the first worksheet containing the water level data. This worksheet
must contain the list of symbols for TAPtides’ 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 of the tidecn
worksheet can be found in Excel file SWPT20070101R6m.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 workbook with one of the formats in
Table 1.

Table 1. Formats allows for datums worksheet.

a. U.S. format b. 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

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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.

Time Series Data File. The second file format which is supported in the analysis page
of TAPtides is the Time Series Data file (*.tsd). This file is supported in SMS versions
10.1+. The ASCII file consists of two header lines followed by data columns separated by
spaced or tabs. The first line contains the identifier TIMESERIES. The second line
contains 5 elements. The first element is the name of the time series within apostrophes.
The second element specifies the curve type and may be one of: “Unassigned”, “Vel. &
Mag.”, or “Vel. Components”. The third element is an integer specifying the number of
input columns including the time stamp (column 1). The forth element is the length of the
input time series. The fifth element is a reference date and time of the first data point. The
date and time are specified as “mm/dd/yyy HH:MM:SS” where mm is the month, dd is
the day, HH is the hour, MM is the minute, and SS is the seconds. The input time series
does not need to have a regular time interval.

TIME_SERIES
"CRCR2007" "Unassigned" 2 1535 "03/01/2007 00:00:00"
0.00 0.227
1800.00 0.198
3600.00 0.168
5400.00 0.137
7200.00 0.104
9000.00 0.070
10800.00 0.036

After a few seconds, the main TAPtides window will appear with four program choices:
coopsVhr, coopsR6m, Tide Analysis, and Tide Prediction. The first two buttons allow the
user to quickly download verified hourly heights (coopsVhr) or raw six-minute heights
(coopsR6m) from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
network of active tide stations (see Appendix A).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Questions about this CHETN can be addressed Alex

Sánchez at (601-634-2027), FAX (601-634-3433), or e-mail:
Alejandro.Sanchez@usace.army.mil. This Technical Note should be referenced as
follows:
Boon, J.D. (2008). “Tidal Analysis and Prediction of Tides - TAPtides”, Coastal and
Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note CHETN I-XX, U.S. Army Engineer Research
and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS.
http://chl.wes.army.mil/library/publications/chetn/

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REFERENCES:

Bloomfield, P. (2000). “Fourier Analysis of Time Series: An Introduction.” John

Wiley & Sons, New York, 258 pp.

Boon, J. D. (2004, 2007). “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,

292 pp.

Doodson, A. T., and Warburg, H. D. (1944). “Admiralty Manual of Tides.”

Admiralty Charts and Publications, London, England, 270 pp.

Munk, W. H. and Cartwright, D. E. (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, D. 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.

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Appendix A
coopsVhr and coopsR6m

NOAA web Services. – The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association

(NOAA) Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) has
recently introduced an application-to-application web services site: http://opendap.co-
ops.nos.noaa.gov/axis/webservices/. The site allows users to download verified hourly
and raw 6 min water level data for more than two hundred active stations around the U.S.

In this section two web programs, coopsVhr and coopsR6m, are described, which allow
the user to download water level data from active NOAA tide gauge stations convert
them directly to TAP Excel Workbook files can be readily loaded into the TAPtides
analysis tool. There basically two types of water level data available the NOAA web
services: verified 1-hr and raw 6-min. The utility coopsVhr, shown in Figure 1A, allows
users to browse active NOAA tide gauge stations by state and download verified hourly
water levels and save the data to TAP Excel files.

15

10

5.525

-5
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Figure 1A. Program ‘coopsVhr’ page

To obtain verified hourly data, the user should first select a state, and then select a tide
gauge station. The gauge stations are shown in the lower left list box. The Station ID is
the identification number that NOAA assigns to each station. The Code is four letter
identification code that coopsVhr assigns to each station. After entering the starting date
and ending date, units (feet or meters), datum (MSL, MLLW or NAVD), and time (LST
recommended), pressing the SEND REQUEST button will initiate a call to the NOAA
web services site. Assuming that the computer is connected to the internet, a message will
appear indicating the expected wait time or warning the user the data are not available for

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any reason (including a bad internet connection). If the ‘Save output file’ box is checked,
the data will be written to an Excel file ready for use by program TAPtides analysis
program

The coopsVhr utility is particularly useful for obtaining a long data series of several
months duration for tidal analysis aimed at determining tidal constants and tidal datums
at a given station. However, the most recent water levels will not be available in the form
of hourly heights due to the time required to verify the observations. In these cases, it is
recommended to use the coopsR6m (Figure 2A) utility, which allows users to download
raw 6-min water level data.

3
2.42
2

0
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5

Figure 2A. Program ‘coopsR6m’ page

Program ‘coopsR6m’ is a utility for downloading raw six-minute water levels collected at
more than two hundred active water level stations maintained and operated by the
NOAA/NOS Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS).
This program is used to obtain the most recent water levels available at one of these
stations and is particularly valuable for examining recent events including tropical and
extratropical storms producing extratidal water levels. NOAA web services limits the
downloading of raw six-minute water levels to one month of data per request.

If the download is successful, the raw water levels will be plotted in the display box as a
preliminary check on data quality. Anomalies are flagged by a second difference squared
(D2sQ) algorithm for additional quality control. If the ‘Save output file’ box is checked,
the data will be written to an Excel file that will include the D2sQ values computed for
the downloaded series. Given a data gap, one or more missing time stamps will be
apparent; otherwise, a data “spike” may warrant replacement by interpolation or else
deletion of the data row affected. A six-minute height that is suspect should NOT be
replaced with a zero or ‘999’ reading. A short data gap or an interpolated data point will

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have little effect but spurious readings (zeros or nines) will impact any subsequent
analysis with TAPtides.

Station Profile: The user may create an Excel workbook with station profile information;
i.e., the tidecn, datums, and webinfo spreadsheets. Programs ‘coopsVhr’ and ‘coopsR6m’
will read the file, if it exists, and add all three spreadsheets to each new workbook created
with data downloaded from NOAA web services. Analyzing a file with ‘profile’
information pre-selects the constituents listed and shows the accepted tidal datums on
TAPtides time series plots.
WEB Services: Downloading of water levels from NOAA active stations

Checking the WEB services box in the lower right corner of the page
directs the program to download the latest 30 days of raw six-minute
water level data from the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products
and Services (CO-OPS), U.S. National Ocean Service (NOS). These data
have NOT been verified and must be used with caution.

After downloading, the data may be analyzed to view a plot of the

observed and predicted (astronomic) water levels in addition to the
residual water level found as the difference between the two. Both 3-
day and 30-day plots are viewable, giving the user the most recent
water level history in the selected region, including water level
extremes (See Extratidal Water Level).

To use WEB services, insert a worksheet named 'webinfo' after the first
worksheet in an Excel workbook. Cells A1:A6 must contain a 7-digit NOS
station ID (A1), a title string (A2), a 4-letter station code that the
user assigns (A3), a vertical reference datum: MSL, MLLW or NAVD (A4),
the word 'feet' or 'meters' (A5), and either 'LST' or 'UTC' for the
time zone (A6). See file CBBT2008.xls for an example.

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