Harbor Data Observatory Opens the Hourly Feed to the Public
As of September 22, 2025, the Harbor Data Observatory publishes an hourly feed of tide, weather, and water quality from 140 sensors. The feed is public. There is no account and no key. The same files are what students in the environmental data science program use in class, which was the reason for taking the login off.
What is in the feed
- Tide height, every hour, from twelve staff-gauge sites including Pilot Cove and the laboratory dock.
- Wind, air temperature, and barometric pressure from six shore stations.
- Water temperature and salinity from the jetty sensors, including Jetty South, which is the sensor cited in the kelp papers.
- A status flag when a sensor has not reported for six hours. Missing data is missing. It is not filled in.
How to read it without breaking it
The hourly files live at the observatory desk in Hester Hall, room 114, and on the campus data server that the library links from its research guide. A polite interval is one request a minute. The feed is not a firehose, and the operations desk will block an address that hammers it. If you need the archive, write to [email protected] and ask for the bulk copy. We send a drive or a link. We do not charge a public agency or a student.
What the feed is not
It is not a navigation aid. Mariners should use the official tide tables and the port’s channel notices. The observatory’s gauges are teaching and research instruments. A discrepancy with the port staff gauge is a reason to write to us, not a reason to change a transit plan.