The Influence of Arctic Landfast Ice on Seasonal Modulation of the M2 Tide

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)
75 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Seasonal modulation of the M2 tide has been quantified for the entire Arctic Ocean and connected regional seas, using tidal harmonic analysis of water levels derived from Synthetic Aperture Radar altimetry. Results are compared to numerical simulations that model the effect of two limiting cases of seasonal landfast ice cover on the M2 tide. The largest seasonal modulation (up to 0.25 m) is observed along coastlines and in bays. Locally, the presence of landfast ice decreases amplitudes, but in some cases, the opposite effect was observed further afield. In most of the Arctic, winter months experience a later arrival of the tide, except for Hudson Bay where phase advance is observed. Most of the altimeter-derived seasonal modulation could be explained by the modeled impact of landfast ice. However, particularly in the Hudson Bay system there is a discrepancy between model- and altimeter-derived seasonal modulation. This suggests that other seasonal processes are important. Finally, results suggest that the consequences of variations in Arctic landfast ice are not restricted to the Arctic, but affect tidal water levels on a global scale.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2020JC016630
Pages (from-to)1-16
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
Volume126
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Keywords

  • Arctic
  • landfast ice
  • M2 tide
  • seasonal modulation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Influence of Arctic Landfast Ice on Seasonal Modulation of the M2 Tide'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this