Küstenpegel

Küstenpegel is a German term that literally means "coast gauge" and refers to tide gauges located along coastlines to measure sea level and its variations. These instruments record tidal cycles, storm surges and longer-term sea-level change, providing continuous water-level data referenced to a national vertical datum.

Küstenpegel installations use a variety of sensors and technologies, including float-operated stilling wells, pressure transducers, radar and acoustic sensors, often combined with GNSS or tide staff readings to maintain vertical control. Data are typically transmitted in real time or near-real time by telemetry for operational uses and archived for scientific analysis.

Information from Küstenpegel is used for navigation safety, harbor operations, coastal protection planning, flood and storm-surge warning systems, and climate research on sea-level rise. National and international networks compile and standardize tide-gauge records; in Germany the Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH) coordinates coastal monitoring and maintains a network of tide stations. Long-term datasets from Küstenpegel contribute to global services such as the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) and the Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS).

The term appears in technical, operational and public communications about coastal monitoring and is central to managing coastal hazards and studying marine environmental change.