The ESEAS-RI Sea Level Test Station: Reliability and Accuracy of Different Tide Gauges

Abstract

In December 2002 a test station of six tide gauges using four different technologies (acoustic, pressure, pulse radar and FMCW radar) was established by Puertos del Estado at the port of Vilagarcfa de Arousa (NW Spain), as part of the ESEAS-RI (European Sea Level Service- Research & Infrastructure) project. The aim was to compare the performance of the tide gauges in order to support the future decisions concerning the improving of the sea level observing systems. Although the comparison of the sea level time series showed that all the tide gauges met GLOSS (Global Sea Level Observing System) quality standards, the experiment also revealed some differences in the quality of the data for certain ranges of frequency.