Tide Model Comparison on the Patagonian Continental Shelf

SARACENO, M.; RUIZ ETCHEVERRY, L.R.

Frascati, Italia

Workshop; Third Coastal Altimetry Workshop; 2009

<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> Sea Surface Height (SSH) as measured by satellites has become a powerful tool for oceanographic and climate related studies. Whether in the open ocean a good  accuracy for the SSH has been achieved, a more energetic dynamics and a number of calibration problems have limited applications over continental shelves and near the coast. Tide amplitudes in the Patagonian shelf are among the highest in the world ocean, reaching up to 12 m at specific locations. This fact highlights the relevance of the accuracy of the tidal correction that must be done to the satellite data to be useful in the region. In this work, four global tide models and two regional models are considered. It is shown that regional tide models obtain a better agreement with in-situ measures. Comparison and discussion of the origin of the differences obtained within the tide models are presented. The local tide model that performs better is used to improve the satellite SSH. The new SSH and the associated geostrophic currents characterize for the first time the large scale circulation pattern over the shelf, based on observations.