U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Datums Page Page 1 of 6
Station ID: 8518995 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/05/2011
Name: ALBANY, HUDSON RIVER
NY
NOAA Chart: 12348 Latitude: 42° 39.0' N ( 42.65000)
USGS Quad: TROY SOUTH Longitude: 73° 44.8' W ( -73.74670)
To reach the tidal bench marks from the junction of Broadway and Quay Street in
Albany, proceed NE on Quay Street for 0.8 km (0.5 mi) to the NE end of the
Albany Riverside Pumping Station property. The bench marks are along Interstate
Highway 787, along the bike path in Riverfront Preserve Erastus Corning Second
Park, and near an air conditioning plant. The tide gage and electric tape gage
were located in the COE/USGS water level station, about 152 m (500 ft) north of
the air conditioning plant.
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
PRIMARY BENCH MARK STAMPING: 8995 A 1981
DESIGNATION: 851 8995 A TIDAL
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 2399
AGENCY: National Ocean Survey (NOS) IDB PID#: MZ1409
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Concrete foundation OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 42° 39.0' N ( 42.65000) LONGITUDE: 73° 44.9' W ( -73.74830)
The primary bench mark is a disk set in a concrete foundation at the SE corner
of the COE/USGS water level station, 61 m (200 ft) NE of a small abandoned brick
building with a red tile roof, 1.22 m (4.0 ft) SE of the center of the station's
entrance door, 0.82 m ( 2.7 ft) north of the north corner of the top concrete
step of the SW entrance of the building, and 0.76 m (2.5 ft) above the ground.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 2 of 6
Station ID: 8518995 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/05/2011
Name: ALBANY, HUDSON RIVER
NY
NOAA Chart: 12348 Latitude: 42° 39.0' N ( 42.65000)
USGS Quad: TROY SOUTH Longitude: 73° 44.8' W ( -73.74670)
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 8995 B 1981
DESIGNATION: 851 8995 B TIDAL
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 2400
AGENCY: National Ocean Survey (NOS) IDB PID#: MZ1408
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Concrete foundation OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 42° 39.0' N ( 42.65000) LONGITUDE: 73° 44.9' W ( -73.74830)
The bench mark is a disk set in concrete in the NW extended foundation of the SW
entrance of a small abandoned brick building with a red tile roof, 61 m (200 ft)
SW of the COE/USGS water level station, 6 m (20 ft) NW of the approximate river
bank, 1.65 m (5.4 ft) SE of the west corner of the building, and 0.61 m (2.0 ft)
above the ground.
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 8995 C 1981
DESIGNATION: 851 8995 C TIDAL
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 2401
AGENCY: National Ocean Survey (NOS) IDB PID#: MZ1410
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Concrete retaining wall OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 42° 38.9' N ( 42.64830) LONGITUDE: 73° 44.9' W ( -73.74830)
The bench mark is a disk set in the top of a concrete retaining wall near the
NE end of an approach ramp to Interstate Highway 787 directly across Quay Street
from the NE side of the Albany Riverside Pumping Station property, 9.75 m (32.0
ft) NE of an aluminum lamp post on the retaining wall, 5.18 m (17.0 ft) NW of
the centerline of Quay Street, 0.67 m (2.2 ft) SW of the NE end of the retaining
wall, and 0.91 m (3.0 ft) above the street.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 3 of 6
Station ID: 8518995 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/05/2011
Name: ALBANY, HUDSON RIVER
NY
NOAA Chart: 12348 Latitude: 42° 39.0' N ( 42.65000)
USGS Quad: TROY SOUTH Longitude: 73° 44.8' W ( -73.74670)
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 851 8995 D 1982
DESIGNATION: 851 8995 D TIDAL
MONUMENTATION: Bench Mark disk VM#: 2402
AGENCY: National Geodetic Survey (NGS) IDB PID#: MZ1406
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Retaining wall OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 42° 39.3' N ( 42.65500) LONGITUDE: 73° 44.6' W ( -73.74330)
The bench mark is a disk set in the top of the SW end of a curved concrete
retaining wall along the west bank of the Hudson River, 85 m (279 ft) ENE of the
center of the entrance and exit of the parking area of the park, 32 m (105 ft)
SSE of the SE corner of the west stone brick abutment of the railroad bridge
over the river, 5.70 m (18.7 ft) SW of an aluminum lamp post on the retaining
wall, 3.20 m (10.5 ft) SE of the SE face of a metal guardrail on the NW side of
the paved bike path, 1.43 m (4.7 ft) NE of a witness post, 0.52 m (1.7 ft) NE of
the SW end of the concrete retaining wall, and 0.61 m (2.0 ft) above the bike
path.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 4 of 6
Station ID: 8518995 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/05/2011
Name: ALBANY, HUDSON RIVER
NY
NOAA Chart: 12348 Latitude: 42° 39.0' N ( 42.65000)
USGS Quad: TROY SOUTH Longitude: 73° 44.8' W ( -73.74670)
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 851 8995 E 1982
DESIGNATION: 851 8995 E TIDAL
MONUMENTATION: Bench Mark disk VM#: 2403
AGENCY: National Geodetic Survey (NGS) IDB PID#: MZ1407
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Stainless steel rod OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 42° 39.1' N ( 42.65170) LONGITUDE: 73° 44.8' W ( -73.74670)
The bench mark is a disk set at the SE end of the NE stone block retaining wall
of the bridge across a pond in the park, about 0.24 km (0.15 mi) NE of the
pumping station property, 14 m (46 ft) NW of the centerline of the bike path,
2.13 m (7.0 ft) NE of the center of the bridge, 0.61 m (2.0 ft) SE of the SE
face of the NE stone block retaining wall of the bridge, and 0.61 m (2.0 ft)
south of a witness post. The bench mark is set about level with the bike path,
crimped to the top of a stainless steel rod driven 7.0 m (23 ft) to refusal, and
encased in a pipe.
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 851 8995 F 1982
DESIGNATION: 851 8995 F TIDAL
MONUMENTATION: Flange-encased Rod VM#: 2404
AGENCY: National Geodetic Survey (NGS) IDB PID#: MZ1411
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Stainless steel rod in sleeve OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 42° 38.9' N ( 42.64830) LONGITUDE: 73° 45.0' W ( -73.75000)
The bench mark is a flange-encased rod set near the air conditioning plant, on
the NE side of a chain link fence running NW/SE, 8.99 m (29.5 ft) SE of the SE
curb of Quay Street, 2.83 m (9.3 ft) SE of the SE face of a stone block wall on
the NW side of the Albany Riverside Pumping Station property, 2.74 m (9.0 ft)
ENE of the NW end chain link fence post, and 0.61 m (2.0 ft) NE of the chain
link fence. The datum point is the top of a stainless steel rod driven 7.9 m
(26 ft) to substantial resistance, in a sleeve extending to a depth of 6.1 m (20
ft), and encased in a pipe with a an NGS logo cover.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 5 of 6
Station ID: 8518995 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/05/2011
Name: ALBANY, HUDSON RIVER
NY
NOAA Chart: 12348 Latitude: 42° 39.0' N ( 42.65000)
USGS Quad: TROY SOUTH Longitude: 73° 44.8' W ( -73.74670)
T I D A L D A T U M S
Tidal datums at ALBANY, HUDSON RIVER based on:
LENGTH OF SERIES: 5 YEARS
TIME PERIOD: July 1982 - June 1987
TIDAL EPOCH: 1983-2001
CONTROL TIDE STATION: 8518750 THE BATTERY, NEW YORK HARBOR
Elevations of tidal datums referred to Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW), in METERS:
HIGHEST OBSERVED WATER LEVEL (05/31/1984) = 3.376
MEAN HIGHER HIGH WATER MHHW = 1.702
MEAN HIGH WATER MHW = 1.586
MEAN SEA LEVEL MSL = 0.869
MEAN TIDE LEVEL MTL = 0.827
North American Vertical Datum NAVD88 = 0.550
MEAN LOW WATER MLW = 0.067
MEAN LOWER LOW WATER MLLW = 0.000
LOWEST OBSERVED WATER LEVEL (03/08/1986) = -1.062
North American Vertical Datum (NAVD88)
Bench Mark Elevation Information In METERS above:
Stamping or Designation MLLW MHW
8995 A 1981 4.732 3.146
8995 B 1981 5.229 3.643
8995 C 1981 7.566 5.980
851 8995 D 1982 5.355 3.769
851 8995 E 1982 3.485 1.899
851 8995 F 1982 6.654 5.068
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 6 of 6
Station ID: 8518995 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/05/2011
Name: ALBANY, HUDSON RIVER
NY
NOAA Chart: 12348 Latitude: 42° 39.0' N ( 42.65000)
USGS Quad: TROY SOUTH Longitude: 73° 44.8' W ( -73.74670)
D E F I N I T I O N S
Mean Sea Level (MSL) is a tidal datum determined over a 19-year National Tidal
Datum Epoch. It pertains to local mean sea level and should not be confused
with the fixed datums of North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88).
NAVD88 is a fixed datum derived from a simultaneous, least squares, minimum
constraint adjustment of Canadian/Mexican/United States leveling observations.
Local mean sea level observed at Father Point/Rimouski, Canada was held fixed as
the single initial constraint. NAVD88 replaces NGVD29 as the national
standard geodetic reference for heights. Bench mark elevations relative to
NAVD88 are available from NGS through the World Wide Web at
National Geodetic Survey.
NGVD29 is a fixed datum adopted as a national standard geodetic reference for
heights but is now considered superseded. NGVD29 is sometimes referred to as
Sea Level Datum of 1929 or as Mean Sea Level on some early issues of Geological
Survey Topographic Quads. NGVD29 was originally derived from a general
adjustment of the first-order leveling networks of the U.S. and Canada after
holding mean sea level observed at 26 long term tide stations as fixed.
Numerous local and wide-spread adjustments have been made since establishment in
1929. Bench mark elevations relative to NGVD29 are available from the National
Geodetic Survey (NGS) data base via the World Wide Web at
National Geodetic Survey.
NAVD88 and NGVD29 are fixed geodetic datums whose elevation relationships to
local MSL and other tidal datums may not be consistent from one location to
another.
The Vertical Mark Number (VM#) and PID# shown on the bench mark sheet are unique
identifiers for bench marks in the tidal and geodetic databases, respectively.
Each bench mark in either database has a single, unique VM# and/or PID# assigned.
Where both VM# and PID# are indicated, both tidal and geodetic elevations are
available for the bench mark listed. The NGS's Integrated Data Base (IDB PID)
provides geodetic datum based on traditionally leveled and bluebooked ties to
the National Spatial Reference System(NSRS) https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/datasheets/.
The NGS Online Positioning User Service (OPUS PID) provides geodetic datum based
on GPS position & tie it to the NSRS https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/OPUS/.
The NAVD88 elevation is shown on the Elevations of Tidal Datums Table Referred
to MLLW only when two or more of the bench marks listed have NAVD88 elevations.
The NAVD88 elevation relationship shown in the table is derived from an average
of several bench mark elevations relative to tide station datum. As a result of
this averaging, NAVD88 bench mark elevations computed indirectly from the tidal
datums elevation table may differ slightly from NAVD88 elevations listed for
each bench mark in the NGS database.