Dredging to grade in tidal waters requires continuous knowledge of the water surface elevation. ClamVision integrates with tide gauges and water level services to apply real-time tidal corrections to all depth measurements.
Tide gauge integrations
ClamVision reads tide data from a wide range of sources:
- ETrac tide gauges — direct serial interface
- Valeport tide gauges — direct serial interface
- Hazen tide gauges — direct serial interface
- NOAA water level service — real-time water level data via internet connection
- Pressure sensors (Keller brand) — pressure-based water level measurement
- Manual tide entry — operator-entered tide readings when automated gauges are not available
How tidal correction works
Every bite depth recorded by ClamVision is tagged with the tide level at the time of the bite. The depth displayed on screen and used for grade comparison is the depth below chart datum (or project datum), not the depth below the current water surface. This means that as the tide rises and falls, the displayed depth remains consistent — the operator does not need to mentally adjust for changing water levels.
Tidal data is also stored with each bite in the database, allowing post-processing analysis with corrected or verified tide records if the real-time gauge had dropouts.