The IERS Special Bureau for Tides is located in the Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The bureau is one of several that together form the IERS Global Geophysical Fluids Center. The center exists under the auspices of the International Earth Rotation Service.

This web site is the special bureau's primary vehicle for distributing information and digital data related to the effects of tides on the Earth's rotation, on its gravitational field, and on its geocenter position. The special bureau devotes primary emphasis to the effects of oceanic tides, with additional information as necessary to the effects of Earth tides and atmospheric tides.

Experts in these fields are invited to contribute data to the Special Bureau for Tides. To do so, please contact a member of the bureau.

For an introductory discussion of the effect of ocean tides on the Earth's rotation, see this brief synopsis.

Richard D. Ray (Head), Goddard Space Flight Center

Benjamin Fong Chao, National Central University, Taiwan

Shailen D. Desai, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The following data are now available.

Tables of Oceanic Tidal Angular Momentum

Tables of Tidal Variations in Earth Rotation

Tables of Low-degree Spherical Harmonics of Ocean and Atmospheric Tides

News.

Our "Tide Prediction Machine" has been disabled because of internet security problems.

New spherical harmonic tables added in June 2007.