Among events also chronicled is the Great Storm of 1928 when many people died on the River Thames as a result of a huge tidal surge. According to Museum officials, this and other data will provide important clues to present global warming and climate changes.

The material also includes detailed plans for early tide-predicting systems such as the revolutionary Roberts-Lege one developed in 1927 to the design of scientist and inventor, Lord Kelvin. It was subsequently used to predict tides for the D-Day landings in Normandy.

Dr John Edmondson, Liverpool Museum's Head of Science, says that staff will now create a database for the archive's contents so that they can be used for future research.