By 1867 the first Tide Tables were published initiating the presentation format that continues to the present day. In the intervening years the publication went from East Coast coverage in one volume to the current global coverage provided in seven volumes. As this century draws to a close, water level measurement technology has again advanced. Ancillary data, such as wind velocity, barometric pressure, air and water temperature, conductivity and relative humidity are also measured. Measurements are recorded every 6 minutes and transmitted every three hours via NOAA's suite of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, to computers dedicated to immediate quality control, analysis and dissemination.
All data are retrievable from a relational database management system.
Personal computers, global telecommunication networks and partnerships with private companies are creating many new products and distribution pathways. New products run the gamut from pocket tide tables, office tide calendars, specialized products for sport fishermen and kayakers, sophisticated software packages for personal computers, and a growing industry of electronic nautical charts with real-time tidal data. This information includes geographic station location, descriptive location text, collected data types, and date of the earliest collected water level data. In future years, additional stations will be added to the service. It also is responsible for computing and disseminating the nation's tide and tidal current predictions, and the geodetic control, or benchmark summaries, of water level stations.