New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

Jennifer Domareki
Stockton University
Environmental Issues 4300
Spring 2015
Tait Chirenje

New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................. 3
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 3
OBJECTIVE ................................................................................................................................................. 5
METHODS.................................................................................................................................................... 5
RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................................... 6
FIG 1. AVERAGE SEA LEVEL CHANGE IN NEW JERSEY ................................................................................ 7
TABLE 1 AVERAGE SEA LEVEL CHANGE IN NEW JERSEY............................................................................ 8
FIG.2 NJTTS GAGE LOCATION MAP ........................................................................................................... 9
DISCUSSION...............................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCE ..............................................................................................................................................12
APPENDIX ..................................................................................................................................................13
FIG.3 ATTRIBUTE TABLE ............................................................................................................................13

New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

ABSTRACT
The New Jersey Telemetry Tidal System is an intricate network of tidal and stream
gages, weather stations and tidal crest-stage gages that monitor sea level rise by using the
average tide readings. This data is transmitted by satellite and recorded on the USGS
website for public access. This report analyzes 14 of the 28 New Jersey telemetric tide
stations for approximately a thirteen year period for northern, central and southern New
Jersey. The high, low, and average sea level rise for those locations is recorded and
displayed in an Excel table and chart found in the results section. Also, an ArcMap 10.2.2
map provides the locations of all twenty-eight tide stations with an attribute table to identify
data specific to each of the 14 gage locations. The results of this collection of data
concludes that the total New Jersey sea level has changed by a 0.23 foot increase in the
past decade as a result of climate change.

INTRODUCTION
The New Jersey Tide Telemetry System (NJTTS) is a statewide system of data
collecting weather stations, tide gauges and stream gages. The data logging network is
composed of 20 tide gages, 5 weather stations and 31 tidal crest- stage gages that are
dispersed throughout the state of New Jersey (Hoppe, 2013). This technology is capable of
capturing real-time data of average sea level tides that can be accurately transmitted
through satellite to appropriate locations where the data is interpreted and analyzed. The
information collected by the NJTTS is useful in gaining a better understanding of the
behavior of the oceans, bays, rivers and streams of New Jersey, where data was previously
insufficient or non-existent.

New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

This telemetry system is beneficial to New Jersey residents by allowing city and
state planners to proactively protect shoreline communities from storm damage. The need
for the system derived from the costly damage caused by the Great Noreaster of 1992.
The sever storm surge caused extreme flooding in the back-bay areas of New Jersey, due
to insufficient data on back bay tidal and flood behavior (Hoppe, 2013). The U.S. Geologic
Survey (USGS) and the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) installed the
New Jersey Tide Telemetry System in 1997 and has since lead to the improvement of the
New Jerseys emergency management and evacuation plans (Hoppe, 2013). The real-time
data is essential in the planning and managing of areas in New Jersey that are susceptible
to flooding. The following offices receive the data from the NJTTS in order to plan
accordingly, the National Weather Service, New Jersey State Police, NJDOT, and county
emergency management agencies. The agencies and offices then create records to allow
for future planning and mitigation to avoid severe destruction and property loss for
commercial and residential communities.
The NJTTS also creates a historical record of mean high water (MWH), peak water
elevations, and 100-year flood elevations. The high and low sea levels use tidal data as a
reference point for elevation. The tidal data is a standard elevation defined by a certain
phase of the tide specific to an area of ocean with common characteristics (NOAA, 2013).
As a whole, the individual gage stations create a comprehensive analysis for New Jersey,
which can contribute to further research in sea- level rise due to climate change. The USGS
works in conjunction with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association to install
telemetry tide gage stations across the United States in order to record and analyze water
data for research (USGS, 2015). This collaboration of data creates a comprehensive

New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

assessment of sea level rise in individual states, regions and coasts of the United States and
can be regarded in terms of sea level response to climate change.
In the case of this report, the data collected from the individual New Jersey Tide
Telemetry System gages gives insight to high, low and average sea level at various
locations throughout New Jersey, from 2000-2013. The records of the changes of sea level
illustrates the oceanic response to the effects of climate change.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this report is to analyze 14 of the 28 New Jersey Telemetry Tide
Stations for approximately thirteen years of sea level data, in order to notice trends about
sea level rise. The trends will indicate the role of climate change and the response of New
Jerseys waterbodies. The report will elaborate on the aspects of climate change that are
affecting sea level and the potential mitigation and adaptation practices available to New
Jersey communities.

METHODS
This report uses the data collected by the NJTTS tide gages to analyze sea level rise
as a result of climate change. The data was downloaded from the USGS website,
www.waterdata.usgs.gov, and displayed on an Excel spreadsheet. The data was
manipulated to calculate the averages, high and low sea level for each station from 2000 to
2013. The data is visually represented through an Excel chart and an ArcMap 10.2.2 map
with an attribute table.

New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

The ArcMap 10.2.2 map was created by downloading the excel sheet and adding
the coordinate location of each tide gage station. A base map of New Jersey with county
boundary outlines allows for a better understanding of the approximate location of each
gage. In the attribute table, the high, low and average sea level can be identified for select
stations. The map is broken into regions in order to notice trends in sea level rise and fall
throughout the years.

RESULTS
In order to compare the sea level activity for across the state of New Jersey, the tide
station locations can be categorized into specific regions. The northern New Jersey region
is indicated in red in Figure 1, includes Raritan Bay at Keansburg, Raritan River at South
Amboy and Shrewsbury River at Sea Bright. Following the northern region, the central
New Jersey region, indicated in green in Figure 1, includes Shark River at Belmar,
Barnegat Bay at Mantoloking, Barnegat Bay at Seaside Heights and Barnegat Bay at
Barnegat Light. Lastly, the southern region, indicated in blue in Figure 1, includes Absecon
Channel at Atlantic City, Absecon Creek at US Route 30 at Absecon, Beach Thorofare at
Margate City, Ingram Thorofare at Avalon, Great Channel at Stone Harbor, Cape May
Harbor at Cape May and Maurice River at Bivalve. According to Figure 1 and Table 1, the
northern region experienced an average 0.018 foot increase, the central region experienced
an average 0.141 foot increase and the southern region experienced an average 0.056 foot
decrease in sea level rise.

New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

Figure. 1

Average Sea Level Change in New Jersey

2000-2013
Maurice River at Bivalve NJ
Cape May Harbor at Cape May NJ
Great Channel at Stone Harbor NJ

Average Sea Level at Given Locations

Ingram Thorofare at Avalon NJ

Beach Thorofare at Margate City NJ
Absecon Channel at Atlantic City NJ
Absecon Creek at US Route 30 at Absecon NJ
Barnegat Bay at Barnegat Light NJ
Barnegat Bay at Seaside Heights NJ

Barnegat Bay at Mantoloking NJ

Shark River at Belmar NJ
Shrewsbury River at Sea Bright NJ
Raritan Bay at Keansburg NJ
Raritan River at South Amboy NJ

-0.20000

-0.15000

-0.10000

-0.05000

0.00000

0.05000
Gage Height (feet)

0.10000

0.15000

0.20000

0.25000

0.30000

New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

Table 1 Illustrates the average sea level rise or fall for the select tide gage locations,
indicated as blue triangles in the Figure 2 map. Although some locations experienced a
decrease in average sea level, the overall total was a sea level rise of 0.23 feet for the
thirteen year period.
Table 1. Average Sea Level Rise in New Jersey
STATION_NAME

Average

Raritan River at South Amboy NJ

-0.05700

Raritan Bay at Keansburg NJ

-0.09371

Shrewsbury River at Sea Bright NJ

0.205143

Shark River at Belmar NJ

-0.04543

Barnegat Bay at Mantoloking NJ

0.222214

Barnegat Bay at Seaside Heights NJ

0.261929

Barnegat Bay at Barnegat Light NJ

0.123929

Absecon Creek at US Route 30 at Absecon NJ

0.008143

Absecon Channel at Atlantic City NJ

-0.07654

Beach Thorofare at Margate City NJ

-0.05307

Ingram Thorofare at Avalon NJ

-0.08607

Great Channel at Stone Harbor NJ

-0.03329

Cape May Harbor at Cape May NJ

-0.16564

Maurice River at Bivalve NJ

Total Sea Level Change

0.015

Average Sum

0.01814

0.140660714

-0.055923862

0.22560

Figure 2 is a map produced in ArcMap 10.2.2. The red circles are the locations of
all NJTTS tide gages. The blue triangles are the locations of the specific tide gages
discussed in this report. The gages were selected based on northern, central and southern
locations. An additional ArcMap attribute table for each location can be found in the
appendix with detailed annual data for each gage station location.

New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

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Figure. 2

New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

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DISCUSSION
Over the past decade there has been a total of 0.23 foot sea level rise. Central New
Jersey (green bars in Figure 1) shows the greatest change in sea level rise over the past
decade. These tidal gage stations are coastal and flood prone areas located on New Jerseys
barrier islands. Therefore, these locations have the greatest sensitivity to sea level rise and
fall due to the Atlantic oceans current circulation. In terms of climate change, the oceanic
circulation pattern and storm intensity are greatly affected by the warming temperatures
(Wu, 2002). The tide gages in the southern location indicated a decrease in average sea
level. These station locations are somewhat protected by the barrier islands.
The changes in the average tide levels indicate a shift in the natural cycles of the
earth. Change in climate and increase in temperature have a detrimental impact on sea level
due to the albedo effect. Polar ice caps are experiencing severe melting, which is a
significant contributor to the change in sea level rise. The albedo effect is a negative
feedback loop in which the ice caps melt to reveal dark ground and ocean. These dark
surfaces absorb the suns radiation, rather than reflect it, and leads to even more heating
and melting ice caps. The feedback loop continues to impact sea level as more water is
drained into the oceans from the melting ice caps. Additionally, the balance of the
hydrologic cycle has experienced a slight change in the response to warming temperatures.
The sea level rise and warm temperatures cause for more intense storms and precipitation,
which also have an impact on average tide levels. Throughout the world, countries are
experiencing intensified tsunamis, hurricanes and typhoons as a result of the shift in the
hydrologic cycle (BBC, 2013).
Implementing the NJTTS has allowed for a more comprehensive analysis of the

New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

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tides and storm surges in New Jersey. This collection of data is used to improve protection
for New Jersey residents who live in a flood-prone area or areas with the potential of being
affected by severe weather. The NJTTS is a form of mitigation that will the help the state
proactively properly preparing for a storm and reduce the surprise of a storm surge. As of
2007, there are five flood-warning stations throughout New Jersey in Burlington County,
Pascack Brook, Passaic County, Rahway River and Somerset County (Hoppe, 2013). As
an additional mitigation strategy, insurance agencies have begun financing for ground level
homes in coastal or flood-prone locations to be raised onto stilts to avoid future flood and
water damage. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has developed
adaptation strategies and insurance for flood areas of all severities. Nine different zones
categorize the insurance policies and procedures for homeowners who may experience
flood damage (FEMA, 2014).
The NJTTS is a significant improvement in the monitoring of New Jersey
waterways. The data is invaluable in creating a historic record and for future planning and
mitigation processes. The next step to improve this system would be to expand the amount
of tide gage, weather stations and tidal crest-stage gages. Expanding the network of these
stations will allow for a more complete representation of sea level rise for every location.

New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

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REFERENCE
BBC. (2013, May 9). [Documentary]. Hot Planet. Retrevied on March 27, 2015 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EonHzPQ_-8
Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2014, July 24). Flood Zones. Retrieved on
March 26, 2015 from https://www.fema.gov/floodplain-management/flood-zones
Hoppe, H. L. (2013, January 9). USGS: New Jersey Tide Telemetry System. Retrieved
on March 26, 2015 from http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3064/
National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. (2013, October 15). Tidal Datum Epoch.
Retrieved on March 31, 2015 from
http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/datum_options.html
USGS. (2015, February 4). USGS Flood Information. Retrieved on March26, 2015 from
http://water.usgs.gov/floods/events/2012/sandy/StormTideAndRDG.html
Wu, Shuang-Ye. Yarnal, B., Fisher, Ann. (2002, November 4). Vulnerability of coastal
communities to sea-level rise: a case study of Cape May County, New Jersey
USA. Retrieved on March 31, 2015 from
http://www.ccpo.odu.edu/~atkinson/ccslriDOCS/ccslri/DocFolders/ScientificPap
rs/wu_et_al%20__2002_New_Jersey1.pdf

New Jersey Tide Telemetry System Analysis

Appendix 1

Figure 3. ArcMap 10.2.2 Attribute Table for Select NJTTS gages

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