Contact: Eliot Hurwitz FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(301) 713-3066 3/22/95
A new partnership between the U.S. Power Squadron and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration promises to increase the accuracy of important current and tide information in the nation's coastal waters.
Although tides and currents can be roughly predicted using astronomical calculations, each location may vary from this norm due to local conditions. Under the new cooperative program between the 60,000-member association of recreational boaters and NOAA, Power Squadron members will take measurements at strategic locations to help increase the accuracy of NOAAþs official tide and current predictions.
The program, managed by NOAAþs National Ocean Service, will begin as a pilot project focusing on the Chesapeake Bay. Power Squadron volunteers will observe complete tidal cycles, or the time of slack water, at strategic sites identified by NOS. Using NOS procedures and equipment to observe currents, the volunteers will report their findings to the agency.
Sites will be chosen to test the viability of the program concept in varying field circumstances, and NOS will evaluate improvements in navigational safety due to increased precision of tide and current predictions.
This project is a new element added to the successful NOS/USPS Cooperative Charting Program. Since 1963, Power Squadron members have contributed to the regular updating of the nationþs nautical charts by providing NOS with information about underwater obstructions and other safety hazards.
The NOS, one of the five arms of NOAA, provides the nation with a variety of nautical services. It publishes tidal predictions and nautical charts, monitors coastal and Great Lakes water levels, manages the system of national marine santuaries, and responds on-site to oil and hazardous materials spills.