A system for displaying tidal currents in an electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) has been developed and implemented in compliance with the standards of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). The tidal current fields can be displayed in real time on the electronic navigational chart and several options and functions for updating and zooming have been designed. The current fields are calculated from a data base with the harmonic constants for the four major tidal constituents. The harmonic constants are obtained from a high resolution numerical model with horizontal grid resolution of 100 m. The model is validated by comparing with sea level and current measurements. The depth matrix for the central part of the model domain was calculated from data from multibeam bathymetric surveys. An application example of the implementation is given for Trondheimsleia, a part of the main sailing route along the western coast of Norway.
Acknowledgment
The modeling work has been supported by The Norwegian Research Council under a grant from the BeMatA program. We are grateful to Statoil, Norway and its representative Mr. Einar Nygaard for being given access to current data from the measurement program in Trondheimsleia. The participation by Mr. Noralf Slotsvik, NHS in the planning of this project is greatly appreciated.