Wake Island (USA Trust) Site History

History Summary

Reference Level

All heights have been referred to the station tide staff zero which is linked to fixed benchmarks.

Tide Gauge Benchmark (TGBM) Description

Benchmark 12 (1961) the primary benchmark, is stamped 'NO 12 1961', and is set in the concrete apron at the east front corner of the Federal Aviation Administration Boat House.

Auxiliary Benchmarks

Seven additional benchmarks are levelled to the TGBM and to the Tide Station on a yearly basis.

Benchmark Relationships

TGBM is 14.28 feet above the Tide Gauge Zero (Station Datum).

NOAA Chart Datum is 3.94 feet above the Station Datum.

Mean Sea Level (1960-1978) is 5.11 feet above the Station Datum.

Quality Assessment

Comments

The daily and monthly means reveal no apparent reference level changes or trends. The high peaks in January 1953 appear to be storm-related. The rise on 15 Septtember 1994 is associated with local wind setup.

The data for 1996-2000 were supplied with heights relative to MLLW. Consequently 1201mm was added to refer the data to tide gauge zero.

The data for 1998-2000 were supplied in non-GMT format and had to be shifted into GMT.

Notable episodic events:

• 23-25 May 1960: Tsunami from S.C. Chile
• 28 March 1964: Tsunami from Alaska

Gaps in the Data Record

The following gaps occur in the data set.