Since 1867, NOAA has produced a series of printed publications to provide annual tide predictions or annual tidal current predictions for locations along the coast. The six annual publications affected are:
- Tide Tables, East Coast of North and South America Including Greenland
- Tide Tables, Europe and West Coast of Africa Including the Mediterranean Sea
- Tide Tables, Central and Western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean
- Tide Tables, West Coast of North and South America Including the Hawaiian Islands
- Tidal Current Tables, Atlantic Coast of North America
- Tidal Current Tables, Pacific Coast of North America and Asia
The online services provide users with as much or better predictions than their printed counterparts. For example, online services can calculate predictions on demand with the newest data available for a station. Also, new stations can be added on quarterly, instead of waiting once a year to be added, according to the agency.
The online services also allow for far more space for stations, offering over 1,200 tide stations and nearly 1,000 currents stations at which predictions are created from harmonic constants.
With the online services, NOAA will be able to create predictions for at least two calendar years, while printed versions could predict one year into the future. Online versions can also offer predictions for past dates for research, legal, and other uses.
Users can also customize predictions with the online services to tailor them to their preferences, including time zone, units and datum to which heights are referenced.
