# `noaa_marine__noaa_marine_get_currents` **Get Tidal Currents** Tidal current predictions for a CO-OPS current station: max flood and ebb speeds, slack times, and the station's mean flood and ebb bearings. These are forecast predictions from CO-OPS, distinct from noaa_marine_get_current_profile, which returns NDBC observed ocean-current measurements binned by depth. The default MAX_SLACK interval is the practical planning view, showing when currents peak and when slack water occurs, and a 6-minute interval returns the continuous curve for detailed analysis, each row carrying its own flood/ebb/slack sense. A station can publish predictions for several depth bins at different depths: bin selects one, omitting it takes the CO-OPS default of the shallowest bin, and the bin and its depth are echoed on every response — read bins\[\] on a noaa_marine_find_stations current row for the bins a station actually has. A station whose currents CO-OPS will not predict as discrete events answers with an empty list and its own wording in the notice rather than an error. Both intervals are bounded by response size: a range whose rows fit is returned whole, a longer one returns the leading rows with rows_matched, rows_returned, and next_offset reporting how much matched and which offset reaches the rest, and offset and limit walk whichever series the interval selects. Current station IDs are alphanumeric (e.g. ACT4176), distinct from the numeric tide and water-level IDs, and the date range is limited to 1 year per request — use noaa_marine_find_stations with types=\["current"\] to obtain a valid current station ID. - Server: [NOAA Tides & Currents](https://gateway.mcpharbor.dev/docs/servers/noaa_marine) (`dev.mcpharbor.gateway/noaa_marine`) - Price per call: $0.0001 (100 micro-USD); only tools/call is charged - Endpoint: `https://gateway.mcpharbor.dev/mcp` or `https://gateway.mcpharbor.dev/mcp/noaa_marine` - Upstream tool: exposed by the provider; called through this gateway as `noaa_marine__noaa_marine_get_currents` - Provider terms: (verified 2026-09-19) - Upstream API documentation: - Rate limit: 300 requests per minute - Attribution required: NOS requests attribution whenever its material is reproduced and re-disseminated; content must not be modified and presented as official government material; predictions are forecast guidance, not for navigation reliance. The optional 'application' parameter should identify the gateway. ## Parameters - `begin_date` (string, required): Start date in YYYYMMDD format, e.g. "20240601". - `bin` (integer, optional): Depth bin to predict for, taken from the bins\[\] array on a noaa_marine_find_stations current row (e.g. 15, 10 or 1 at PUG1515). Omit to take the CO-OPS default, which is the shallowest bin. A bin t... - `end_date` (string, required): End date in YYYYMMDD format (inclusive), e.g. "20240607". - `interval` (string, optional): Prediction interval: MAX_SLACK (default) returns max flood, max ebb, and slack water events — ideal for passage planning. 6min returns a continuous current curve. One of: `MAX_SLACK`, `6min`. Default: `MAX_SLACK`. - `limit` (integer, optional): Maximum prediction rows to return on this page — max/slack events or 6-minute rows, whichever the interval selects — for a caller that wants fewer than the response budget allows. Omit for the larg... - `offset` (integer, optional): Row offset into the matched prediction series — the max/slack events on the MAX_SLACK interval, the 6-minute curve on 6min — for reading a range whose rows do not fit one response. 0 (default) star... Default: `0`. - `station_id` (string, required): CO-OPS current station ID (alphanumeric, e.g. "ACT4176"). Obtain from noaa_marine_find_stations with types=\["current"\]. - `time_zone` (string, optional): Time zone for returned timestamps. lst_ldt = local standard/daylight time (default); gmt = UTC; lst = local standard time year-round. One of: `lst_ldt`, `gmt`, `lst`. Default: `lst_ldt`. - `units` (string, optional): Unit system: english = knots for speed and feet for the echoed depth; metric = cm/s for speed (not m/s) and meters for the echoed depth. One of: `english`, `metric`. Default: `english`. ## Example call Request headers and body: ```http POST /mcp HTTP/1.1 Host: gateway.mcpharbor.dev Authorization: Bearer Content-Type: application/json Accept: application/json, text/event-stream MCP-Protocol-Version: 2026-07-28 Mcp-Method: tools/call Mcp-Name: noaa_marine__noaa_marine_get_currents ``` ```json { "id": 1, "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "params": { "_meta": { "io.modelcontextprotocol/clientCapabilities": {}, "io.modelcontextprotocol/clientInfo": { "name": "example-agent", "version": "1.0.0" }, "io.modelcontextprotocol/protocolVersion": "2026-07-28" }, "arguments": { "begin_date": "example", "end_date": "example", "station_id": "example" }, "name": "noaa_marine__noaa_marine_get_currents" } } ``` A successful response: ```json { "id": 1, "jsonrpc": "2.0", "result": { "_meta": { "dev.mcpharbor.gateway/call": { "chargedMicroUsd": 100, "id": "" } }, "content": [ { "text": "", "type": "text" } ], "resultType": "complete" } } ``` This call costs $0.0001 (100 micro-USD). Reading this page and listing the tool cost nothing. The `dev.mcpharbor.gateway/call` record in the result is the receipt for that charge. Each POST is metered separately, so sending the same call again buys another one: see [agent.txt](https://gateway.mcpharbor.dev/agent.txt), section 7, before retrying. ## Attribution This provider requires the attribution below wherever you use results from its tools. Reproduce it verbatim: > NOS requests attribution whenever its material is reproduced and re-disseminated; content must not be modified and presented as official government material; predictions are forecast guidance, not ... ## Tool definition Exactly as `tools/list` returns it (free): ```json { "_meta": { "dev.mcpharbor.gateway/pricing": { "currency": "USD", "pricePerCallMicroUsd": 100 } }, "annotations": { "idempotentHint": true, "openWorldHint": true, "readOnlyHint": true }, "description": "Tidal current predictions for a CO-OPS current station: max flood and ebb speeds, slack times, and the station's mean flood and ebb bearings. These are forecast predictions from CO-OPS, distinct from noaa_marine_get_current_profile, which returns NDBC observed ocean-current measurements binned by depth. The default MAX_SLACK interval is the practical planning view, showing when currents peak and when slack water occurs, and a 6-minute interval returns the continuous curve for detailed analysis, each row carrying its own flood/ebb/slack sense. A station can publish predictions for several depth bins at different depths: bin selects one, omitting it takes the CO-OPS default of the shallowest bin, and the bin and its depth are echoed on every response — read bins[] on a noaa_marine_find_stations current row for the bins a station actually has. A station whose currents CO-OPS will not predict as discrete events answers with an empty list and its own wording in the notice rather than an error. Both intervals are bounded by response size: a range whose rows fit is returned whole, a longer one returns the leading rows with rows_matched, rows_returned, and next_offset reporting how much matched and which offset reaches the rest, and offset and limit walk whichever series the interval selects. Current station IDs are alphanumeric (e.g. ACT4176), distinct from the numeric tide and water-level IDs, and the date range is limited to 1 year per request — use noaa_marine_find_stations with types=[\"current\"] to obtain a valid current station ID.", "inputSchema": { "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema", "additionalProperties": false, "properties": { "begin_date": { "description": "Start date in YYYYMMDD format, e.g. \"20240601\".", "pattern": "^\\d{8}$", "type": "string" }, "bin": { "description": "Depth bin to predict for, taken from the bins[] array on a noaa_marine_find_stations current row (e.g. 15, 10 or 1 at PUG1515). Omit to take the CO-OPS default, which is the shallowest bin. A bin the station does not publish comes back as bin_unavailable naming the bins it does.", "maximum": 9007199254740991, "minimum": -9007199254740991, "type": "integer" }, "end_date": { "description": "End date in YYYYMMDD format (inclusive), e.g. \"20240607\".", "pattern": "^\\d{8}$", "type": "string" }, "interval": { "default": "MAX_SLACK", "description": "Prediction interval: MAX_SLACK (default) returns max flood, max ebb, and slack water events — ideal for passage planning. 6min returns a continuous current curve.", "enum": [ "MAX_SLACK", "6min" ], "type": "string" }, "limit": { "description": "Maximum prediction rows to return on this page — max/slack events or 6-minute rows, whichever the interval selects — for a caller that wants fewer than the response budget allows. Omit for the largest page that fits; a value larger than the budget allows does not widen the page.", "maximum": 9007199254740991, "minimum": 1, "type": "integer" }, "offset": { "default": 0, "description": "Row offset into the matched prediction series — the max/slack events on the MAX_SLACK interval, the 6-minute curve on 6min — for reading a range whose rows do not fit one response. 0 (default) starts at the first row; pass the next_offset from a previous call to continue. An offset past the last row returns an empty page rather than an error.", "maximum": 9007199254740991, "minimum": 0, "type": "integer" }, "station_id": { "description": "CO-OPS current station ID (alphanumeric, e.g. \"ACT4176\"). Obtain from noaa_marine_find_stations with types=[\"current\"].", "pattern": "^[A-Za-z0-9_-]{1,20}$", "type": "string" }, "time_zone": { "default": "lst_ldt", "description": "Time zone for returned timestamps. lst_ldt = local standard/daylight time (default); gmt = UTC; lst = local standard time year-round.", "enum": [ "lst_ldt", "gmt", "lst" ], "type": "string" }, "units": { "default": "english", "description": "Unit system: english = knots for speed and feet for the echoed depth; metric = cm/s for speed (not m/s) and meters for the echoed depth.", "enum": [ "english", "metric" ], "type": "string" } }, "required": [ "station_id", "begin_date", "end_date" ], "type": "object" }, "name": "noaa_marine__noaa_marine_get_currents", "outputSchema": { "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema", "additionalProperties": false, "anyOf": [ { "not": { "required": [ "error" ] }, "required": [ "station_id", "station_name", "units", "bin", "depth" ] }, { "required": [ "error" ] } ], "properties": { "bin": { "description": "Depth bin CO-OPS answered with — the requested bin, or its default shallowest bin when none was requested. Null when the response carried no prediction rows.", "type": [ "number", "null" ] }, "depth": { "description": "Depth of the returned bin, in the requested units: feet under english, meters under metric. Distinct from the bins[].depth on a noaa_marine_find_stations row, which the catalog always publishes in feet. Null when CO-OPS publishes no depth for the bin, or when the response carried no prediction rows.", "type": [ "number", "null" ] }, "error": { "additionalProperties": {}, "description": "Present when the call failed. Absent on success.", "properties": { "code": { "description": "JSON-RPC error code for this failure.", "maximum": 9007199254740991, "minimum": -9007199254740991, "type": "integer" }, "data": { "additionalProperties": {}, "properties": { "reason": { "description": "Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `station_not_found`: CO-OPS rejected the station ID as unknown or invalid — current stations require alphanumeric IDs. `invalid_date_range`: begin_date/end_date is not a real calendar date or begin_date is after end_date. `date_range_exceeded`: Requested date range exceeds the 1-year CO-OPS limit. `no_predictions`: Station exists but CO-OPS returned no current-prediction data for the requested date range. `predictions_unavailable`: The station is in the current-predictions catalog, but CO-OPS publishes no current predictions for it at any date. `bin_unavailable`: CO-OPS rejected the requested bin because the station publishes no predictions at that bin. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.", "examples": [ "station_not_found", "invalid_date_range", "date_range_exceeded", "no_predictions", "predictions_unavailable", "bin_unavailable" ], "type": "string" }, "recovery": { "additionalProperties": {}, "description": "Actionable next step for the caller.", "properties": { "hint": { "type": "string" } }, "required": [ "hint" ], "type": "object" }, "retryable": { "description": "Whether retrying may succeed.", "type": "boolean" } }, "type": "object" }, "message": { "description": "Human-readable description of what went wrong.", "type": "string" } }, "required": [ "code", "message" ], "type": "object" }, "events": { "description": "Max flood, max ebb, and slack events — the whole matched series when it fits one response, otherwise the leading page starting at offset. Present for MAX_SLACK interval, and empty when CO-OPS answered with a statement instead of events — read notice for its wording.", "items": { "additionalProperties": false, "description": "A single max flood, max ebb, or slack current event.", "properties": { "direction": { "description": "The station's mean flood direction on a flood event and its mean ebb direction on an ebb event, as a true bearing in degrees (0–360). A station constant, not an instantaneous heading. Absent for slack events and wherever CO-OPS reports no mean direction.", "type": "number" }, "speed": { "description": "Peak speed as a non-negative magnitude, in the requested units. Absent when CO-OPS reports no speed for the event, which is the usual case at slack water — though a slack event can carry a small residual speed under metric units.", "type": "number" }, "time": { "description": "Event datetime in the requested time zone.", "type": "string" }, "type": { "description": "Current event type: flood (onshore/inbound flow), ebb (offshore/outbound flow), or slack (near-zero current).", "enum": [ "flood", "ebb", "slack" ], "type": "string" } }, "required": [ "time", "type" ], "type": "object" }, "type": "array" }, "next_offset": { "anyOf": [ { "maximum": 9007199254740991, "minimum": -9007199254740991, "type": "integer" }, { "type": "null" } ], "description": "Offset to pass as offset on the next call, or null when this page reaches the last matched row. Absent when the whole matched series was returned." }, "notice": { "description": "CO-OPS's own statement about the station when it returned that instead of prediction events — the answer to report, not a failure — or what this page of the prediction series covers and how to reach the next one.", "type": "string" }, "page_offset": { "description": "Row offset this page starts at, echoed from the request. Absent when the whole matched series was returned.", "maximum": 9007199254740991, "minimum": -9007199254740991, "type": "integer" }, "predictions": { "description": "6-minute continuous current predictions — the whole curve when it fits one response, otherwise the leading page starting at offset. Present for 6min interval, and empty when CO-OPS answered with a statement instead of a curve — read notice for its wording.", "items": { "additionalProperties": false, "description": "A single 6-minute current prediction.", "properties": { "direction": { "description": "The station's mean flood direction on a flood row and its mean ebb direction on an ebb row, as a true bearing in degrees (0–360). A station constant, not an instantaneous heading. Null on a slack row and wherever CO-OPS reports no mean direction.", "type": [ "number", "null" ] }, "speed": { "description": "Current speed as a non-negative magnitude, in the requested units.", "type": "number" }, "time": { "description": "Prediction datetime in the requested time zone.", "type": "string" }, "type": { "description": "Flow sense at this row, from the sign of the speed CO-OPS predicts: flood (inbound), ebb (outbound), or slack (zero). speed is a non-negative magnitude, so this is what carries which way the water is moving.", "enum": [ "flood", "ebb", "slack" ], "type": "string" } }, "required": [ "time", "type", "speed", "direction" ], "type": "object" }, "type": "array" }, "rows_matched": { "description": "Prediction rows the requested date range matched, before the page was cut. Absent when the whole matched series was returned.", "maximum": 9007199254740991, "minimum": -9007199254740991, "type": "integer" }, "rows_returned": { "description": "Prediction rows this page carries — the length of events on the MAX_SLACK interval, of predictions on 6min. Absent when the whole matched series was returned.", "maximum": 9007199254740991, "minimum": -9007199254740991, "type": "integer" }, "station_id": { "description": "Station ID echoed from the request — for chaining.", "type": "string" }, "station_name": { "description": "Station name as returned by CO-OPS.", "type": "string" }, "truncated": { "description": "True when this page stops short of the last matched row, so further rows remain at next_offset. False on the final page and on a page past the end. Absent when the whole matched series was returned.", "type": "boolean" }, "units": { "description": "Unit system these values are in: \"english\" (speed in knots, depth in feet) or \"metric\" (speed in cm/s, depth in meters).", "type": "string" } }, "type": "object" }, "title": "Get Tidal Currents" } ```