Tidal Current Atlas for Long Island Sound and San Francisco Bay.
Abstract:
A computerized Tidal Current Model for Long Island Sound and San Francisco Bay has been developed by the Coast Guard Oceanographic Unit. The model is a digitized version of the National Ocean Surveys Tidal Current Tables and the Tidal Current Charts for Long Island Sound and Block Island Sound and San Francisco Bay. Tests were conducted to verify the accuracy of these sources of tidal current information using a drift pole survey of surface currents for Long Island Sound published by the Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Army Corps of Engineers Hydraulic Model Bay and Delta Model for San Francisco. The Long Island Sound test showed complete agreement between the model and observations 83.2 of the time, and 100 agreement at 40 of the positions tested. The San Grancisco Bay test showed under prediction of speeds by 0.5 to 1.0 knots in 3 of 4 regions and over prediction by 0.6 knots in the 4th region. The predicted directions were deflected to the right of the observed directions 75 of the time by 49.15 to 66.11 degrees. These comparisons indicate that the data for Long Island Sound is reliable and that for San Francisco Bay should be used with caution. Author