U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Datums Page Page 1 of 5
Station ID: 8543024 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/12/2003
Name: TINICUM 3, DARBY CREEK
PA
NOAA Chart: 12312 Latitude: 39° 53.2' N ( 39.88670)
USGS Quad: LANSDOWNE Longitude: 75° 15.9' W ( -75.26500)
To reach the tidal bench marks from Philadelphia International Airport, proceed
1.9 km (1.2 mi) SW along Interstate Highway 95 to Bartram Avenue, then exit and
proceed NE on Bartram Avenue for 1.6 km (1.0 mi) to 84th Street, then turn left
and proceed NW along 84th Street for 1.1 km (0.7 mi) to Lindberg Boulevard, then
turn left and proceed SW along Lindberg Boulevard for 0.6 km (0.4 mi) to the
main entrance of Tinicum National Wildlife Refuge, then proceed SW along a dirt
service road on the SE bank of Darby Creek for 1.1 km (0.7 mi) to a fork in the
creek. The bench marks are along the SE bank of Darby Creek to the east of the
fork. The tide gage and staff were about 46 m (150 ft) SW of the fork on the
south side of the creek.
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
PRIMARY BENCH MARK STAMPING: 3025 A 1976
DESIGNATION: 854 3025 A
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 2920
AGENCY: National Ocean Survey (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Unspecified deep rod OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 39° 53.2' N ( 39.88670) LONGITUDE: 75° 15.9' W ( -75.26500)
The primary bench mark is a disk set near the SE corner of the fork in the
creek, 15 m (50 ft) east of the creek bank, 9 m (31 ft) SW of a power pole, and
4 m (13 ft) west of the centerline of the dirt service road. The bench mark is
crimped to the top of an unspecified deep rod driven 9.1 m (30 ft) to
substantial resistance, and encased in a 4-inch PVC pipe and concrete kickblock.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 2 of 5
Station ID: 8543024 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/12/2003
Name: TINICUM 3, DARBY CREEK
PA
NOAA Chart: 12312 Latitude: 39° 53.2' N ( 39.88670)
USGS Quad: LANSDOWNE Longitude: 75° 15.9' W ( -75.26500)
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 3025 B 1976
DESIGNATION: 854 3025 B
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 2921
AGENCY: National Ocean Survey (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Unspecified deep rod OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 39° 53.2' N ( 39.88670) LONGITUDE: 75° 15.9' W ( -75.26500)
The bench mark is a disk set along the SE bank of Darby Creek, 143 m (470 ft)
NNE of bench mark 3025 A 1976, 12 m (38 ft) SW of power pole #89979B, and 4.72 m
(15.5 ft) west of the centerline of the dirt service road. The bench mark is
crimped to the top of an unspecified deep rod driven 10.7 m (35 ft) to
substantial resistance, and encased in a 4-inch PVC pipe and concrete kickblock.
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 3025 C 1976
DESIGNATION: 854 3025 C
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 2922
AGENCY: National Ocean Survey (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Unspecified deep rod OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 39° 53.2' N ( 39.88670) LONGITUDE: 75° 15.9' W ( -75.26500)
The bench mark is a disk set along the SE bank of Darby Creek, 2 m (5 ft) south
of the creek bank, 1 m (2 ft) north of the centerline of the dirt service road,
and 0.76 m (2.5 ft) SW of a witness post. The bench mark is crimped to the top
of an unspecified steel rod driven 8.8 m (29 ft) to substantial resistance, and
encased in a 4-inch PVC pipe and concrete kickblock.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 3 of 5
Station ID: 8543024 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/12/2003
Name: TINICUM 3, DARBY CREEK
PA
NOAA Chart: 12312 Latitude: 39° 53.2' N ( 39.88670)
USGS Quad: LANSDOWNE Longitude: 75° 15.9' W ( -75.26500)
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 3025 D 1976
DESIGNATION: 854 3025 D
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 2923
AGENCY: National Ocean Survey (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Unspecified deep rod OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 39° 53.2' N ( 39.88670) LONGITUDE: 75° 15.9' W ( -75.26500)
The bench mark is a disk set along the SE bank of Darby Creek, 61 m (200 ft) ESE
of bench mark 3025 C 1976, 3 m (10 ft) NW of the centerline of the dirt service
road, and 1 m (4 ft) east of the creek bank. The bench mark is crimped to the
top of an unspecified deep rod driven 10.7 m (35 ft) to substantial resistance,
and encased in a 4-inch PVC pipe and concrete kickblock.
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 3025 E 1976
DESIGNATION: 854 3025 E
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 2924
AGENCY: National Ocean Survey (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Unspecified deep rod OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 39° 53.2' N ( 39.88670) LONGITUDE: 75° 15.9' W ( -75.26500)
The bench mark is a disk set along the SE bank of Darby Creek, 12 m (38 ft) east
of the creek bank, 4 m (14 ft) west of the centerline of the dirt service road,
and 0.46 m (1.5 ft) east of a witness post. The bench mark is crimped to the
top of an unspecified deep rod driven 11.0 m (36 ft) to substantial resistance,
and encased in a 4-inch PVC pipe and concrete kickblock.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 4 of 5
Station ID: 8543024 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/12/2003
Name: TINICUM 3, DARBY CREEK
PA
NOAA Chart: 12312 Latitude: 39° 53.2' N ( 39.88670)
USGS Quad: LANSDOWNE Longitude: 75° 15.9' W ( -75.26500)
T I D A L D A T U M S
Tidal datums at TINICUM 3, DARBY CREEK based on:
LENGTH OF SERIES: 4 MONTHS
TIME PERIOD: August 1978 - November 1978
TIDAL EPOCH: 1983-2001
CONTROL TIDE STATION: 8542425 WANNAMAKER BRIDGE
Elevations of tidal datums referred to Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW), in METERS:
MEAN HIGHER HIGH WATER MHHW = 1.504
MEAN HIGH WATER MHW = 1.398
MEAN SEA LEVEL MSL = 0.778
MEAN TIDE LEVEL MTL = 0.710
MEAN LOW WATER MLW = 0.024
MEAN LOWER LOW WATER MLLW = 0.000
North American Vertical Datum (NAVD88)
Bench Mark Elevation Information In METERS above:
Stamping or Designation MLLW MHW
3025 A 1976 2.466 1.068
3025 B 1976 2.422 1.024
3025 C 1976 2.219 0.821
3025 D 1976 2.282 0.884
3025 E 1976 2.170 0.772
Foot Notes:
Bench marks 3025 D 1976 and 3025 E 1976 are based on one differential leveling
connection and do not meet the quality control standards of the NOS. Therefore,
caution should be used when deriving elevations for these marks.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 5 of 5
Station ID: 8543024 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/12/2003
Name: TINICUM 3, DARBY CREEK
PA
NOAA Chart: 12312 Latitude: 39° 53.2' N ( 39.88670)
USGS Quad: LANSDOWNE Longitude: 75° 15.9' W ( -75.26500)
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.