Tidal Datums with Spatially Varying Uncertainty in North-East Gulf of Mexico for VDatum Application

We conducted a VDatum-spatially varying uncertainty study for the North-East Gulf of Mexico. The newly developed tide model incorporated the latest available National Ocean Service (NOS) bathymetry survey data and National Geodetic Survey (NGS) shoreline data, and the datum products reflected the updated tidal datum data from the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS). A gridding technique based on the wavelength of long waves in the deep ocean was applied to improve model efficiency. In this study, we highlight the creation of the tidal datum products and associated spatially varying uncertainty, which was developed by blending the model results, observations, and measurement errors together using a spatially varying uncertainty method based on a variational approach. The study found that model errors, measurement errors, and lack of observations can contribute to large uncertainty in the tidal datum products. The need for high quality bathymetry data in coastal areas is essential for reducing model error. As for the large uncertainty due to lack of observations or large measurement error, this can be improved by placement of new observations with high precision. Compared to a single uncertainty value, the spatially varying uncertainty provides more accurate representation of the uncertainty for the tidal datum products in VDatum. The uncertainty results will be used to help with decision-making on placement of new tide gauges to further reduce the uncertainty in the VDatum products.