NOAA Expands Water Level and Wave Dataset

The first modeled, historical water level and wave dataset for the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf coasts was released on January 13 by NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS).

The dataset, known as Coastal Ocean Reanalysis (CORA), delivers more than 40 years of modeled, historical water level and wave information every 500 meters (roughly every quarter mile) along the U.S. coastline. This long-term water level data was previously only available at NOAA tide gauge locations, which in some areas of the coast can be hundreds of miles apart.

The new dataset spans 1979 to 2022 and provides the scientific and research community with access to previously unavailable historical data that can help advance research, machine learning and policymaking in a variety of sectors, such as coastal resource management and energy planning.

“CORA provides coastal communities with new insights into how their flood risk has changed over time,” said Analise Keeney, project lead and oceanographer at NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS). “In Charleston, South Carolina, for example, CORA shows the full extent of the devastating inland flooding caused by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Combined with NOAA's long-term tide gauge data, the data enables more coastal communities to understand their past flood risks so they can better prepare and respond to future events.”

NOAA scientists will integrate CORA’s historical datasets into existing products, including the Sea Level Calculator and High Tide Flooding Outlooks.

NOAA plans to release Coastal Ocean Reanalysis datasets for the West Coast, Hawaii and Alaska by late 2026.