Water levels at Scripps Pier

Hourly observed and six-minute predicted water levels at the end of Scripps Pier, Station 9410230 in La Jolla, California, USA, are extracted from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) database. During the extracted record, an acoustic sensor was used until 2014 (Aquatrak air acoustic sensor), when it was fully replaced by a microwave radar water level sensor (Xylem WaterLOG H-3611i, first installed in 2013). A pressure sensor (GE Druck PDCR 4010) was used as a backup to fill in data gaps. All water level sensors were leveled and data quality controlled. Predictions are generated from harmonic constituents of the record dating back to 1924. The sensors at the end of the Scripps pier are less than 40km away from all beach monitoring sites and measure the water level above a water column that is approximately 6m deep. Regional, non-tidal effects (e.g. El Niño) are included in the observed water levels and will be similar between sites and the gauge. However, local effects may vary between the monitoring sites and the gauge observations, particularly eddy activity and wave set down (or some wave setup, if waves are large). Note that when creating shoreline water level estimates, the user must account for wave setup and runup that is not observed in deeper water at the gauge. The tidal-only information provided by the predictions may also vary slightly from the monitoring sites and can be estimated using tidal models (e.g. TPXO, ADCIRC).