The discipline which would be responsible for collecting data about currents and tides is oceanography. It is a study of all the changes and aspects of the ocean. It analyses, collects and monitors information that refers to the dynamic of all the natural processes that take place in the ocean, including ocean currents, waves, and geophysical processes.
It has helped us by seeing what kind of things we can see with our eyes it also helps us by seeing mirco things like dirt