TIDES IN THE WEDDELL SEA

Robin Robertson, Laurie Padman*, and Gary D. Egbert

College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon

* Now at Earth and Space Research
Seattle, Washington

We use a high-resolution barotropic tidal model to predict tidal elevations and currents in the Weddell Sea. The ocean cavity under the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf is included in the model domain. Tidal elevations exceed 1 m at the back of the Filchner-Ronne and Larsen Ice Shelves. Tidal velocities are small over the deep basins but are generally greater than 10 cm s-1 over the continental shelves. Velocities occasionally reach 1 m s-1 in the shallow water near the General Belgrano Bank and under the Ronne Ice Shelf near the ice front. Model performance was evaluated through comparisons with TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry, bottom pressure gauge records, and current meter data. The largest discrepancies between the model results and measurements occur over the continental slope and under the ice shelves. The principal error sources are believed to be inaccurate bathymetry in our model, tidal analysis limitations associated with short data record lengths, and omission of baroclinic tides. Model results indicate that tides play a significant role in the circulation and heat flux in the Weddell Sea. We discuss the influence of tides on mean flow through the modified effective bottom drag, and the generation of baroclinic tides and other internal gravity waves through interactions of the tide with topography.




Tides in the Weddell Sea has been published in: Ocean, Ice, and Atmosphere: Interactions at the Antarctic Continental Margin, Antarctic Research Series, Volume 75, pp. 341-369, 1998.
An Acrobat PDF version (2.93 MB file) of the entire paper is available. This manuscript contains figures that are best printed in color.


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