Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-2022-16
https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-2022-16
09 Feb 2023
 | 09 Feb 2023
Status: this preprint is currently under review for the journal HGSS.

New Zealand’s First Tide Gauge-based Sea Level Measurements

Glen Hamilton Rowe

Abstract. James Cook’s second voyage to the South Seas, undertaken to settle the question regarding the existence or otherwise of the Great Southern Continent (Terra Australis Incognita), involved two vessels, the Resolution and Adventure. The Board of Longitude appointed two astronomers from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, to the voyage, William Bayly and William Wales, one to each vessel. They were instructed, in addition to their astronomical duties, to observe the height and time of the tides. To this end, Bayly and Wales fabricated tide gauges and conducted timed measurements of sea level during their stopovers at Dusky Sound and Queen Charlotte Sound in 1773. This paper reviews those tidal observations, the first of their kind in New Zealand, using modern understanding of the tide, assuming that no significant change to the tidal regime at each location has taken place during the intervening period. When compared to the predicted (hindcast) astronomical tide, the majority (80 %) of the observed ranges and times agreed within 20 cm and 30 min respectively. Whilst their observations have little scientific value today (other than indicating the quality attainable in the late-18th century), Bayly and Wales can not only rightfully lay claim to making New Zealand’s first tide gauge measurements but also, as far as it possible to ascertain, be justifiably proud of the quality of their endeavours.

Glen Hamilton Rowe

Status: open (until 05 Apr 2023)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on hgss-2022-16', Wilko Graf von Hardenberg, 03 Mar 2023 reply
  • RC2: 'Comment on hgss-2022-16', Christopher Jones, 12 Mar 2023 reply
  • RC3: 'Comment on hgss-2022-16', Philip Woodworth, 21 Mar 2023 reply

Glen Hamilton Rowe

Glen Hamilton Rowe

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Short summary
New Zealand’s first tide gauge-based sea level measurements were made in 1773 during James Cook’s second voyage of discovery to the South Pacific. The paper examines the quality of those measurements by comparison with tide predictions based on modern information from locations close to the sites of the 1773 observations. The results show that the quality of their work was of at least a high standard. Whilst of little scientific value today, these measurements are historically significant.