Robert Moray
Scientific research
### Scientific research

Moray made significant contributions to the observation of [tidal phenomena](/wiki/Tide "Tide"). Shortly before the restoration of Charles II, he stayed for several weeks in the remote island of [Great Bernera](/wiki/Great_Bernera "Great Bernera"), in the [Outer Hebrides](/wiki/Outer_Hebrides "Outer Hebrides"), and observed that the normal semidiurnal tide was there combined with tidal streams between the nearby islands that exhibited a strong diurnal motion. Moray reported these "extraordinary tydes" to the Royal Society in 1665, which published them in the first volume of the *[Philosophical Transactions](/wiki/Philosophical_Transactions_of_the_Royal_Society "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society")*. Nearly 200 years passed before Moray's description was confirmed by hydrographic measurements in the [Sound of Harris](/wiki/Sound_of_Harris "Sound of Harris"). It was only in 1968 that the phenomenon was satisfactorily explained in terms of the theory of "[continental shelf](/wiki/Continental_shelf "Continental shelf") waves".

In 1666, Moray published *Considerations and Enquiries concerning Tides*. There he advocated careful quantitative observation of tidal phenomena and proposed, for the first time in the scientific literature, the use of stilling\-wells as [tide gauges](/wiki/Tide_gauge "Tide gauge").


Why are hydrographic measurements necessary to confirm scientific observations?