UK tidal and coastal water level data sources compared
UK national tide-gauge observations from NTSLF and the UK Tide Gauge Network may be reported relative to local Chart Datum or Ordnance Datum: reconcile the datum before comparing sites or flood levels. Distinguish observed water level from astronomical tide predictions and residuals (observed minus predicted level). Skew surge is the difference between observed and predicted maxima within a tidal cycle, regardless of their timing. Prediction tables and harmonic constituents cannot substitute for observed residuals during a surge event. Regional coastal monitoring programmes such as Channel Coastal Observatory combine tide, wave and topographic observations: check the particular products available. Coastal or sea-level sites can sit alongside river gauges in agency services; for EA, NRW, SEPA and DfI Rivers products, confirm site type, coverage and datum rather than assuming every API includes coastal observations. Design and extreme sea-level GIS, including Coastal Flood Boundary products, are separate from continuous tide-gauge records; wave-only buoys are not water-level series. Check timestamps, units, quality flags, responsible bodies, licence and commercial-use terms. Many public products use the Open Government Licence; some prediction or commercial harbour services require a key or paid tier.
Showing 5 of 5 matching sources from the build-time catalogue snapshot, capped at 40. Half the places are reserved for each publisher group; unused places go to the other group. Each section is ordered by the existing evidence score and catalogue tie-breaks. Sponsored listings and placeholders are excluded. Bulk imports are excluded. Scores describe catalogue evidence, not fitness for a particular site.
Selection requires recorded UK coverage or coverage of a UK nation; global coverage alone is not treated as confirmation. Check each listing’s evidence and upstream terms: enrichment may be inferred, and Unknown means the catalogue has no clear value. Wrappers provide access to upstream data, not an independent survey or monitoring network.
Connect to TerraMCP to use sources marked live via the router. Availability here records an implemented adapter, not a live service-health check.
Lesser-known sources
Independent and other sources not classified as government or regulator publishers. “Lesser-known” is a discovery grouping, not a measure of popularity.
| Source | What it gives | Coverage & cadence | Access / API / format | Licence / commercial use | Live via TerraMCP router | Evidence score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel Coastal Observatory dataset | coastal monitoring data; wave buoys Resolution: Unknown | Coverage: England (Regional Coastal Monitoring Programmes); website also hosts Welsh Coastal Monitoring Centre data Record period: Unknown Cadence: Unknown | Access: Licence OGL and auth 'none' per ENTRY metadata; however the page shows Login and Register forms and says 'To access our data, Please use the top right menu button', so an account may be needed. Confirm before relying on it. Authentication: none Formats: Unknown | Licence: OGL Commercial use: Unknown | No | 53.8/100 |
| National Tide and Sea Level Facility dataset | tide gauge measurements; tidal predictions; storm surge forecasts; storm surge model archive; skew surge history; sea level trends; storm surge annual reports Resolution: Unknown | Coverage: UK Tide Gauge Network and South Atlantic Network (incl. Gibraltar) Record period: Unknown Cadence: Unknown | Access: No authentication (auth: none); licence: NOC terms. Per catalogue entry metadata; not stated in DOCS. Authentication: none Formats: Unknown | Licence: NOC terms Commercial use: Unknown | No | 46.9/100 |
Known sources: Government and regulators
| Source | What it gives | Coverage & cadence | Access / API / format | Licence / commercial use | Live via TerraMCP router | Evidence score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| River Levels Application Programming Interface (API) data api | river water level (height, m); lake water level (height, m); coastal water level (height, m); reservoir levels (some sites) Resolution: Temporal: usually every 15 minutes; spatial: individual monitoring sites (point measurements) | Coverage: Wales: NRW river monitoring sites, plus some reservoirs and coastal sites Record period: Unknown Cadence: Minimum daily update cycle, increased during flooding; dataset metadata lists frequency as continual | Access: Free and open; no access restrictions and no authentication (ENTRY auth is null). Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 per site footer (metadata licence field reads 'Not set') Authentication: Unknown Formats: Download; Web Service | Licence: ["There are no access restrictions on this data. NRW may release, publish or disseminate it freely.", "\u00a9 CNC/NRW Data may be re-used under the terms of the Open Government Licence providing it is Commercial use: Unknown | No | 65.9/100 |
| DfI Rivers / NI flood maps dataset | river level; lough level; sea level; flood hazard information (NI Flood Maps viewer) Resolution: Unknown | Coverage: Northern Ireland Record period: Unknown Cadence: Unknown | Access: Free, no authentication (auth: none); licence OGL Authentication: none Formats: Unknown | Licence: OGL Commercial use: Unknown | No | 58.1/100 |
| Extreme river discharge and associated tide gauge co-occurrences from UK estuaries 1984-2013 dataset | This dataset contains the dates and magnitudes of extreme river discharge and associated skew surge peaks for UK estuaries between 1984 and 2013. The lag time between the drivers is also provided. Thirty years of river discharge and sea level data for 126 estuaries around the UK were analysed. The river discharge and tide gauge data were used at a 15-minute temporal resolution. A peaks over threshold analysis was completed to identify peaks in the river discharge record which exceeded the 95th p Resolution: Unknown | Coverage: United Kingdom Record period: Unknown Cadence: Unknown | Access: Unknown Authentication: Unknown Formats: Unknown | Licence: Open government licence Commercial use: Unknown | No | 27.5/100 |
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