What is it?
The NTF is a part of the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology. The NTF is the primary source of tide tables, tidal streams and tidal constituents provided to the Australian Hydrographic Service. The NTF also manages the national data archive for sea levels and tides.
Did we speak with a representative?
No.
Nationality:
Australian
What methods does it use?
In 1993, the NTF installed acoustic tidal gauges around Tuvalu in around to record changes in sea level. Its conclusions are based on the data obtained from these tidal gauges.
Its take on the controversy:
After analyzing its own records, the NTF concluded that there is no discernable acceleration in the sea level rise in the Pacific Ocean surrounding Tuvalu. In fact, their study claimed that the sea level has actually fallen 3.42 inches since 1993.
Quotations:
“We are yet to see the acceleration of sea levels that the climatologists have predicted”
Bill Mitchell, Deputy Director of the NTF, quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald (April 2, 2002)
Criticisms:
John Hunter reanalyzed the NTF’s record and discovered what was hiding in its results: the fact that El Nino storms in 1997 and 1998 had left the islands of Tuvalu temporarily higher and drier. Hunter found that the sea level rise in Tuvalu was consistent with the global mean.