TIDESTATIONS - Pacific Northwest Water-Level Stations and Tidal Datum Distributions

Frequently anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How might this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
• Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
• How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?
  1. How well have the observations been checked?
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

1. How might this data set be cited?
   NOAA Center for Tsunami Research, 2006, TIDESTATIONS - Pacific Northwest Water-Level Stations and Tidal Datum Distributions: Data Series 236, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Western Coastal and Marine Geology, Menlo Park, California.

   Online Links:

   • http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/236/download/tidestations.zip
   • http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/236/catalog.shtml

   This is part of the following larger work.
   Wong, Florence L., Venturato, Angie J., and Geist, Eric L., 2006, Seaside, Oregon Tsunami Pilot Study -- Modernization of FEMA Flood Hazard Maps: GIS Data: Data Series 236, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Western Coastal and Marine Geology, Menlo Park, California.

   Online Links:

   • http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/236/

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -124.616670
   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -123.766666
   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 48.368330
   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 40.766670
   

3. What does it look like?

   http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/236/metadata/tidestations.gif (GIF)

   Map of the central Cascadia region showing the locations of Seaside and relevant tide stations

4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

   Calendar_Date: 2004

   Currentness_Reference:

   publication date

5. What is the general form of this data set?

   Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
   

6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
   1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Entity point (15)
   2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 1.000000. Longitudes are given to the nearest 1.000000. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.
      
7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   tidestations

   name of shapefile (Source: none)

   FID

   Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI) Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

   Shape

   Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI) Coordinates defining the features.

   ID

   user-defined identification number (Source: none)

   Value	Definition
   number	user-defined identification value

   NAME

   Water-level station name (Source: NOS) Feature defined by NOS

   STATIONID

   Water-level station identification number (Source: NOS) Feature defined by NOS

   STATE

   State in which station exists (Source: none) Feature defined by NOS

   LATITUDE

   Latitude of water-level station (Source: NOS) Feature defined by NOS

   LONGITUDE

   Longitude of water-level station (Source: NOS) Feature defined by NOS

   DIST_KM

   Distance in kilometers from Seaside, Oregon (Source: NOAA Center for Tsunami Research)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	583

   MAXOBS

   Maximum observed water-level (Source: NOS) Feature defined by NOS

   MHHW

   Mean Higher High Water (Source: NOS) Feature defined by NOS

   MHW

   Mean High Water (Source: NOS) Feature defined by NOS

   MTL

   Mean Tide Level (Source: NOS) Feature defined by NOS

   MSL

   Mean Sea Level (Source: NOS) Feature defined by NOS

   MLW

   Mean Low Water (Source: NOS) Feature defined by NOS

   NAVD88

   North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (Source: NGS) Feature defined by NGS

   NGVD29

   National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (Source: NGS) Feature defined by NGS

   MLLW

   Mean Lower Low Water (Source: NOS) Feature defined by NOS

   MINOBS

   Minimum Observed Water Level (Source: NOS) Feature defined by NOS

   SOURCE

   source of datum distributions (Source: user-defined)

   Value	Definition
   observed	Datums based on observed water-level data
   interpolated	datum values based on values interpolated between other water-level stations

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • NOAA Center for Tsunami Research
2. Who also contributed to the data set?

   NOAA National Ocean Service, NOAA National Geodetic Survey, NOAA Center for Tsunami Research

3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   NOAA Center for Tsunami Research

   Attn: Angie J. Venturato

   7600 Sand Point Way NE

   Seattle, Washington
   

   USA

   206-526-6556 (voice)

   Angie.J.Venturato@noaa.gov

Why was the data set created?

This data set is one of a collection of spatially referenced digital files in a geographic information system related to the Seaside, Oregon, Tsunami Pilot Study.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Federal Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) guidelines do not currently exist for conducting and incorporating tsunami hazard assessments that reflect the substantial advances in tsunami research achieved in the last two decades (Tsunami Pilot Study Working Group, 2006). Therefore, as part of the FEMA Modernization Program, a Tsunami Pilot Study was carried out in the Seaside/Gearhart, Oregon, area to provide information from which tsunami mapping guidelines could be developed. This area was chosen because it is typical of coastal communities in the section of the Pacific Coast from Cape Mendocino to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There was also considerable interest shown by state agencies and local stakeholders in mapping the tsunami threat to this region. The study was an interagency effort by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of Southern California, and the Middle East Technical University. We present the GIS data from that report in this publication.
These data are intended for science researchers, students, policy makers, and the general public. The data can be used with geographic information systems (GIS) software to display geologic and oceanographic information.

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

   nostides (source 1 of 2)

   NOAA National Ocean Service, 2004, Water Level Station Benchmarks.

   Online Links:

   • http://www.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/

   Type_of_Source_Media: online
   Source_Contribution: tidal datum information and associated attributes
   

   ngscontrol (source 2 of 2)

   Survey, National Geodetic, 2004, Vertical Geodetic Control Data.

   Online Links:

   • http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/

   Type_of_Source_Media: online
   Source_Contribution: geodetic datum information and associated attributes
   

2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

   Date: 2004 (process 1 of 3)

   Source data were used to create a table of coordinates and associated attributes. The table was imported to create a point shapefile. The data are discussed further in:
   Mofjeld, H.O., et al. (2004): Background tides and sea level variations at Seaside, Oregon, NOAA Tech. Memo. 2736, 1-19. Data sources used in this process:

   • nostides
   • ngscontrol

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • tidestations

   Date: 19-Oct-2020 (process 2 of 3)

   Edited metadata to add keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. No data were changed. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Attn: VeeAnn A. Cross

   Marine Geologist

   384 Woods Hole Road

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   508-548-8700 x2251 (voice)

   508-457-2310 (FAX)

   vatnipp@usgs.gov

   Date: 08-Oct-2021 (process 3 of 3)

   Edited metadata for minor typos and to bring it up to PCMSC standards, including adding USGS Thesaurus keyword terms. No data were changed. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Attn: Susan Cochran

   Geologist

   2885 Mission Street

   Santa Cruz, CA
   

   831-460-7545 (voice)

   scochran@usgs.gov

3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
   Tsunami Pilot Study Working Group, 2006, Seaside, Oregon Tsunami Pilot Study -- Modernization of FEMA Flood Hazard Maps: Open-File Report 2006-1234, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California.

   Online Links:

   • http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1234/

   Venturato, A.J., 2005, A digital elevation model for Seaside, Oregon: Procedures, data sources, and analyses: Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, Washington.

   Online Links:

   • http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/pubs/PDF/vent2812/vent2812.pdf

   Other_Citation_Details: NOAA Tech Memo 2812
   

   H.O. Mofjeld, A.J. Venturato, F.I. Gonzalez, and V.V. Titov, 2004, Background tides and sea level variations at Seaside, Oregon: Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, Washington.

   Online Links:

   • http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/pubs/PDF/mofj2736/mofj2736.pdf

   Other_Citation_Details: NOAA Tech Memo 2736
   

   NOAA National Ocean Service, 2004, Water Level Station Benchmarks: NOAA National Ocean Service, Silver Spring, Maryland.

   Online Links:

   • http://www.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/

   Other_Citation_Details:

   Benchmark information was obtained for 13 stations: Neah Bay, Toke Point, South Bend, Astoria, Hammond, Seaside, Garibaldi, Depoe Bay, South Beach, Charleston, Port Orford, Crescent City, and North Spit

   NOAA National Geodetic Survey, 2004, Vertical geodetic control data: NOAA National Geodetic Survey, Silver Spring, Maryland.

   Online Links:

   • http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

1. How well have the observations been checked?
   These data contain attributes automatically generated by ESRI ArcGIS software and two user-defined attributes that were developed by NOAA National Ocean Service, National Geodetic Survey, and NOAA Center for Tsunami Research. Refer to cross references for more information.
2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
   Refer to cross references.
3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
   Refer to cross references.
4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
   Complete.
5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
   Refer to cross references

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: None.
Use_Constraints:

These data were created for the sole purpose of the Seaside, Oregon, Tsunami Pilot Study. It is not meant for navigational means. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration makes no expressed or implied warranty regarding the accuracy of these data.
The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the use of these data on any other system.
Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the originator of the dataset.

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
   
   U.S. Geological Survey

   Information Services Box 25286

   Denver, Colorado
   

   USA

   1-888-275-8747 (voice)

   infoservices@usgs.gov
2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Downloadable Data: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 236
3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

   Although these data have been used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) no warranty expressed or implied is made by the U.S. Geological Survey as to the accuracy of the data. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of these data or related materials.
   Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

4. How can I download or order the data?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	shapefile (version 9.1) ArcGIS shapefile Size: 0.020
     Network links:	http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/236/download/tidestations.zip http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/236/catalog.shtml http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/236/

   • Cost to order the data: None.

5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

   These data are available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) shapefile format. The user must have ArcGIS or ArcView 3.0 or greater software to read and process the data file. In lieu of ArcView or ArcGIS, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of importing the data. A free data viewer, ArcExplorer, capable of displaying the data is available from ESRI at www.esri.com.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 08-Oct-2021

Metadata author:

NOAA Center for Tsunami Research

Attn: Angie J. Venturato

7600 Sand Point Way NE

Seattle, Washington

USA

206-526-6556 (voice)

Angie.J.Venturato@noaa.gov

Metadata standard:

Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)