Sea level portal

BODC holds sea level data from all over the world in many formats. We are working on this portal, so eventually you will be able to search through all of BODC's sea level data holdings and, where possible, download the data.

There will be a map, so that you can search by geographical location, and a form to fill in, so you can specify the time period, the type of record (e.g. chart, digital) and the sampling interval you are interested in.

For the moment, listed below is information about where digital sea level data can be found on the BODC web site and some information on the analogue records we hold.

Digital data

• UK Tide Gauge Data — The National Tidal & Sea Level Facility manages data from 45 tide gauges around the UK.
  • Request processed data from the last three months (charges may apply)
  • Download processed data, up until three months ago, to allow for quality control
  • Download the latest raw data with NO quality control
     
• International sea level data — BODC was the 'delayed-mode' sea level data assembly centre for World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) and is performing a similar role for the Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) programme. BODC is also a GLOSS data archiving centre. Under the WOCE programme, over 3550 site years of data from 160 stations in over 20 countries were collected. These (and data collected for CLIVAR) are available to download from either our International sea level pages.
   
• Historical bottom pressure recorder (BPR) data — Search our BPR data holdings and download data.

Analogue data

• Chart records — The earliest chart records we hold begin in the 1850s and the most recent are from 2004. There are charts from more than 40 countries around the world, though most are from around the UK, particularly the UK Tide Gauge Network. For more information on dates, geographic coverage etc. email the BODC Enquiries Officer.
• Scanned images of tide gauge ledgers and charts — There are a number of years worth of historical UK tide gauge data, from eight sites around the UK. Funding to rescue these historical data came from the Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) and this was matched by BODC.
• Micro negatives — We have micro negatives (mainly copied from original chart records) from 1910 to 1995. They cover over 20 countries, but again are mainly from gauges in the UK, particularly the UK Tide Gauge Network. For more information email the BODC Enquiries Officer.
• Tabulations of high and low waters — from over 10 countries, mainly the UK, covering a time span of 1932 to 1992. For more information email the BODC Enquiries Officer.

We also hold records of 1/4 hourly, 1/2 hourly, hourly and three hourly heights and visual observations. For more information on these or any other information not covered here, email the BODC Enquiries Officer.