Historic tide gauge records from Scott Base 1957-1959 and 1988-1990

The tidal pattern in polar regions exhibits unusual features and is diurnal rather than the 12 hour period observed at lower latitudes. A site at Scott Base is about as far south as it is possible to establish a tide gauge in open water. Continued operation of a tide gauge for an indefinite period is required to determine the tidal constituents, mean sea level (which requires at least a 19 year record) and to provide annual tide preditions. A tide gauge was installed at Scott Base from 1957-1959 with tide height recorded hourly. Records are kept on microfilm or reported by MacDonald and Burrows (1962). Another tide gauge was installed and functioned continuously from November 1988 to February 1990 except for a 2 week period of lost data in early January 1990.