Scientists at ESR and Oregon State University (OSU) create and serve barotropic tide models for the Arctic Ocean and the seas surrounding Antarctica. There are two types of model: “forward” models based on numerical solution of the astronomically forced shallow-water wave equations; and “inverse” models that assimilate tide data to constrain the solution to match data within some prescribed error. While our long-term goal is to create accurate forward models, there is an immediate need for accurate tide models that are best achieved through data inversion.

  

Several models (see list) are available to interested researchers. The model grid files are formatted to match the Oregon State Tidal Inversion Software (OTIS) format, can be accessed using ESR’s Matlab “Tide Model Driver” (TMD) toolbox and OSU’s FORTRAN “OSU Tidal Prediction Software ” (OTPS) codeThe same codes work on OSU’s family of models for other regions around the world.