Microcomputer Tide Prediction

A computer utility is described that predicts tides for all the National Ocean Service (NOS) Tidal Reference and Subordinate Stations in the U.S.. The program USTides predicts at more than 2,500 locations around this country and can be extended to function at the more than 6,000 tide stations around the world. Running on the IBM Personal Computer it can answer questions such as: 1) state of tide at a given time and location; 2) daily times given time and location; 2) daily times of high/low tide and 3) extreme tide during a period of time. Database search techniques are used for ease in selecting locations by name. Code is optimized for intensive floating point computations in the harmonic evaluations. Plots of tide height as a function of time can be selected with automatic scaling of the height axis and choice of time intervals. Users of the utility consist of researchers, coastal engineers, port authorities, maritime operators, salvors, fishermen and sailors who rely on accurate and timely tide predictions for their convenience, safety and livelihood.