Long-Term and Short-Term Variations of Sea Level in Eastern Canada: A Review

This is a review of sea level data performed at three selected stations (Québec-Lauzon, Harrington Harbour,and Halifax) in eastern Canada in order to investigate the seasonal trends and other long-term and short-term changes which occurred since the beginning of the 20th century. Stations situated in riverine or estuarine regions (e.g., Québec-Lauzon) are significantly affected by freshwater flow in their annual cycle of sea level changes and exhibit a definite maximum in spring and minimum in autumn-winter. Other stations situated in the eastern half of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (e.g., Harrington Harbour) or near the open Atlantic coast (Halifax) mainly follow the general cycle of subarctic regions, with lows in spring-summer and highs in autumn-winter. Such seasonal variations appear to be related to the atmospheric pressure and baroclinic current variations. Secular trends in mean sea level in eastern Canadian waterbodies show a mean rise of about 2.56 mm/yr -1 due to tectonic motions, that is, land subsidence. At several stations in eastern Canada, evidence is found for the influence of the nodal tide (18.6 years), the sunspot cycle (10.8 years), the lunar perigee (8.47 years), the pole tide (14.5 months), the annual cycle (12 months), and semiannual tidal cycle (6 months) in sea level records. Beside long-term oscillations with periods of more than one year, evidence is found for high energetic semidiurnal and diurnal tides where they contribute largely (from 90-95%) to short term variability of sea level. In the residual signal (variations of sea level--tidal variations), short-term variations between 2 to 30 days can be attributed to meterological forcing (atmospheric pressure and winds), longitudinal seiches (2-10 h), atmospheric tides (12 h and 24 h) and inertial oscillations (16-18 h). A regressive model showed that the water discharge from the St. Lawrence River contributes 29% to the monthly residual sea level at Québec-Lauzon. The atmospheric pressure and winds contribute respectively 8.1% and 8.9% at this station. They contribute 52.1% and 7.7% at Harrington Harbour and 41.8% and 14.3% at Halifax. The regression coefficients of residual sea level on atmospheric pressure are respectively estimated to be -1.507 cm. ( hPa ) -1 ( - 0.345 cm. ( hPa ) -1 ), -0.776 cm. ( hPa ) -1 ( - 0.112 cm. ( hPa ) -1 ) and -0.825 cm. ( hPa ) -1 ( - 0.008 cm. ( hPa ) -1 ) at the three stations. Compared to the coefficient of the inverted barometer, estimated to be -1 cm. ( hPa ) -1 , these effects of the atmospheric pressure on sea level variations seem to be amplified at Que´bec-Lauzon by the wind effects (and water discharge) while they are reduced at Harrington Harbour and Halifax.     

Spectrum of mesoscale sea level oscillations in the northern Black Sea: Tides,seiches, and inertial oscillations

Long-term data from 23 tide gauges were used to analyze the spectrum of mesoscale sea level variability of the Black Sea. The tides have sharp spectral peaks, and they are detected at diurnal and semidiurnal frequencies for all stations. A local wide spectral peak associated with inertial oscillations is located between the diurnal and semidiurnal tidal peaks. This peak is well known in the spectra of the current velocity variations of the Black Sea, but in the sea level spectrum it has been identified for the first time. At frequencies of >3 cpd, sea level spectra of the Black Sea have (1) wide maxima in the continuous spectrum, which correspond to the main eigenmodes of the sea with periods of 5.6, 4.8, 4.1, and 3.1 h, and (2) sharp peaks of radiational harmonics S₃, S₄, S₅, and S₆. The periods of seiches calculated in this study are close to the periods of eigenmodes of the Black Sea, obtained by the numerical modeling of other authors. The main factors influencing the formation of radiational tides in the Black Sea are presumably breezes and runoff from large rivers. The significant predominance of a harmonic with frequency of 5 cpd (S₅) over other radiational harmonics is caused by the influence of an eigenmode, with a frequency of about 5 cpd. The proximity of the periods of these oscillations leads to resonant amplification and to a corresponding increase in amplitude of the radiational harmonic S₅.     

Strong tidal currents observed near the bottom in the Suruga Trough,central Japan

Current measurements carried out at the depth of 4 m above the sea bottom near the northern edge of the Suruga Trough in the early fall of 1985 indicated the existence of strong semidiurnal tidal currents, which were considered to be associated with internal tides. In order to examine the spatial structure of the bottom intensified tidal flow, more detailed current observations were carried out at three or four depths at two stations along the main axis of the Suruga Trough during about 70 days from August to October 1988. We obtained the following results: (1) the variations of the current velocity caused by the semidiurnal and diurnal internal tides are evident in all of the records, and the orientation of the major axis of each tidal ellipse nearly coincides with that of the main axis of the trough; (2) the semidiurnal internal tide is dominant over the diurnal internal tide at 4 m above the sea bottom at both stations; (3) at the northern station the semidiurnal internal tide is dominant over the diurnal internal tide, whereas they are nearly equal at the southern station except at 4 m above the sea bottom; (4) the biharmonic internal tides with 1/3 day and 1/4 day periods, are found near the sea bottom and the major axis of the tidal ellipse is perpendicular to the orientation of the main axis of the Suruga Trough.     

Tidal oscillations in the Baltic Sea

Long-term hourly data from 35 tide gauge stations, including 15 stations in the Gulf of Finland, were used to examine tidal sea level oscillations of the Baltic Sea. High-resolution spectral analysis revealed the well-defined fine structure of tidal peaks with diurnal peaks at most stations being higher than semidiurnal. At some stations (e.g., Narva, Daugava, and Wladyslawowo), high frequency radiational tidal peaks with periods multiple of the solar day (3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 cpd) were detected; the respective oscillations are supposed to be caused by seabreeze winds. Harmonic analysis of tides for individual yearly sea level series followed by vector averaging over the entire observational period was used to estimate the amplitudes and phases of 16 tidal constituents. The maximum tidal oscillations of 17–19 cm were found to be observed in the Gulf of Finland and, first of all, in Neva Bay (in the head of the gulf). Diurnal or mixed diurnal tides are predominant in almost the entire Baltic Sea. The comparison of the observed tides with those theoretically computed showed that the existing numerical models of the main tidal harmonics generally quite accurately reproduce the structure of the tides in the Baltic Sea except for some regions of the Gulf of Bothnia.     

Patterns of summer vertical and horizontal currents in coastal waters of the northern Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea

This study was focused on analysis of the horizontal and vertical current components with correspondence to tide variation, heat flux, seiches and relative backscatter intensity in coastal waters of the northern Gulf of Aqaba during the summers of 2001–2004. Spectrum analysis has shown eight distinguishable peaks of the tide measurements. In addition to semidiurnal and diurnal barotropic tides, signal periods of 8.13, 5.89–6.32 and 4.06 h were related to shallow water compound and overtides of the principal solar and lunar constituent and to seiches (second and third mode) generated in the Red Sea, whereas seiches of the first mode might enhance the semidiurnal tide signal. The shortest periods of 1.02–1.05, 0.50 and 0.36 h were related to seiches (first, second and third mode, respectively) generated in the Gulf of Aqaba. The spectrum analysis and cross-correlation tests of the horizontal and vertical current components and relative backscatter intensity suggested that the vertical motion at the diurnal period was either due to migration of zooplankton or to water convection. Both of which were of the same order as vertical motion induced by horizontal motions of water particles projected parallel on the bottom gradient line. On the other hand, semidiurnal and diurnal periods detected in the vertical currents were caused by the strong signal in the cross-shore current component, first mode seiches generated from the Red Sea and tide. This could be considered as an indicator of the dominant force influencing the currents, such as winds, thermocline depth, seiches and tidal forcing. A permanent convection during summer is likely to occur in the shallow coastal waters due to relatively high inclined bottom, high evaporation and blowing of dry air, as well as the observed dominance of the downward vertical currents in coastal waters.     

Multimodal structure of the internal tides on the continental shelf of the northwestern South China Sea

Based on the moored current and temperature observations during the summer of 2005, the vertical structure of the internal tides on the continental shelf of the northwestern South China Sea (SCS) is studied. The vertical structure of the internal tides was found to differ greatly between semidiurnal and diurnal constituents. Generally, the diurnal constituents are dominated by the first-mode motions, which are consistent with the overwhelming first-mode signals in the northeastern SCS. In contrast, the semidiurnal internal tides, unlike the predomination of the first-mode variations in the northeastern area, exhibit a higher modal structure with dominate second-mode signals in the observational region. Moreover, although the diurnal internal tides are much stronger than the semidiurnal component, the shear caused by the latter over various scales was found to be significant compared to that induced by the diurnal tides, probably due to the superposition of the first-mode and higher-mode (smaller scale) semidiurnal variations. Further analysis demonstrates that the shear induced by the diurnal internal tides is larger than that induced by the semidiurnal variations around 45 m depth, where the first-mode current reversal in the vertical happens, while below 45 m depth higher-mode semidiurnal internal tides generally produce larger shear than that by the diurnal component. The northwest-propagating semidiurnal internal tides of higher-mode with small vertical scale, probably do not originate from a distant source like Luzon Strait, but were likely generated near the experiment site.     

Tidal oscillations in the Caspian Sea

Long-term hourly data from 12 tide gauge stations were used to examine the character of tidal oscillations in the Caspian Sea. Diurnal and semidiurnal tidal peaks are well-defined in sea level spectra in the Middle and South Caspian basins. High-resolution spectral analysis revealed that the diurnal sea level oscillations in the Middle Caspian Basin have a gravitational origin, while those in the South Caspian Basin are mainly caused by radiational effects: the amplitude of diurnal radiational harmonic S₁ is much higher than those of gravitational harmonics О₁, P₁, and K₁. In the North Caspian Basin, there are no gravitational tides and only weak radiational tides are observed. A semidiurnal type of tide is predominant in the Middle and South Caspian basins. Harmonic analysis of the tides for individual annual series with subsequent vector averaging over the entire observational period was applied to estimate the mean amplitudes and phases of major tidal constituents. The amplitude of the M₂ harmonic reaches 5.4 cm in the South Caspian Basin (at Aladga). A maximum tidal range of 21 cm was found at the Aladga station in the southeastern part of the Caspian Sea, whereas the tidal range in the western part of the South Caspian Basin varies from 5 to 10 cm.     

江苏近岸海域水位变化特征分析

基于江苏沿海连云港、吕四两个测点的验潮站多年的观测资料以及AVISO卫星高度计资料,利用统计分析方法和潮汐调和分析方法研究江苏沿海地区的海洋水位变化特征。结果表明:江苏沿海海平面和潮差均呈上升趋势,海平面上升速度达3.35 mm/a,高于全球和区域海平面的上升速度;对采样间隔为1 h的潮位连续观测数据作调和分析,各验潮站主要半日分潮的振幅呈上升趋势,全日分潮的振幅呈下降趋势,S_a分潮的周期性变化与El Nino现象有关。     

Internal tides in Uchiura Bay

Long-term temperature measurements of the subsurface layer near Uchiura-Bay head were made in summer 1978 and 1979 to further investigate the characteristics of the internal tides in more detail. The temperature measurements indicate that the internal tides were present at all times during the observational period. The semidiurnal internal tides are usually dominant over the diurnal, but at times the diurnal internal tides have comparable amplitudes with the semidiurnal. When the semidiurnal internal tides are predominant, the fundamental period of the longitudinal internal seiche in Uchiura Bay estimated from the observed density structure is close to the semidiurnal period. However, the reason for the occasional amplification of the diurnal internal tides is not clear.     

Circulation pattern and current variations with respect to tidal frequency in the sea near the head of Suruga Bay

Current measurements were conducted 10 m below the sea surface near the head of Suruga Bay intermittently from 1970 to 1978. The circulation pattern is usually counterclockwise; northward along the east coast (off Heda and at the mouth of Uchiura Inlet), westward along the north coast (off Fuji), and southwestward along the west coast (off Shimizu). The amplitudes of the four major tidal constituents of current variation, M₂, S₂, K₁ and O₁, are much larger than those expected from sea level variations along the coast. The amplitudes of the diurnal constituents of current variation are much larger than those of the semidiurnal constituents, while the amplitudes of the semidiurnal constituents of sea level variation are much larger than those of the diurnal constituents. The observed amplitude of the predominant diurnal constituents exhibit large seasonal changes and tend to increase with the development of the stratification of the upper part of the water in Suruga Bay. These facts strongly suggest that the observed current variations are mainly associated with internal tides in Suruga Bay.     

台湾海峡西部近海潮汐特征

利用2006年夏、冬季和2007年春、秋季实测海床基水位资料,基于统计方法和潮汐调和分析方法给出了台湾海峡西部近海的潮汐时空分布特征及其变化规律．结果表明：平潭岛北部至漳浦近海属正规半日潮,汕头近海一带属于不正规半El潮,惠来近海属不正规日潮．全日潮波传播路径为从平潭岛南下至惠来近海,半日分潮传播路径也是如此．汕头一惠来近海由于海峡内南北向两支半日潮波相互抵消,故使得日潮成分占优．最大潮差分布为从平潭岛北部到泉州近海变化不大,厦门东南到惠来近海呈线性递减,原因是台湾北部的旋转潮波系统的南下潮波和从吕宋海峡进入南海的北上潮波在南日岛一带相遇形成驻波,平潭岛北部至泉州近海基本都在波腹内,而厦门东南至惠来近海则不在驻波影响范围之内．以春季为例,平潭岛北部的最大潮差为6．02m,南日岛近海为6．23m,泉州近海为5．98m,厦门东南近海为5．08m,漳浦近海为4．32m,汕头近海为2．28111,最大潮差还呈季节变化．平均潮差的统计结果依旧以春季为例：平潭岛北部3．92m、南日岛近海4．14m、泉州近海4．02m、厦门东南近海3．30m、漳浦近海2．74m、汕头近海1．22m．另外,平潭岛北部至漳浦近海的潮周期均为12h25min左右,且涨落潮历时几乎相等．汕头近海的潮周期约为12h30min．但涨潮历时比落潮历时多1h20min左右．原因是不正规半日潮一个太阴日内的两个涨潮历时和两个落潮历时一般不同,分点潮期间涨落潮历时虽然差较小,但回归潮期间差较大,故会形成汕头近海测站涨潮历时比落潮历时多1h20rain左右的现象．     

Oceanic tidal angular momentum and Earth's rotation variations

Luni-solar tides affect Earth's rotation in a variety of ways. We give an overview of the physics and focus on the excitation of Earth rotational variations by ocean tides under the conservation of angular momentum. Various models for diurnal and semidiurnal tidal height and tidal current fields have been derived, following a legacy of a number of theoretical tide models, from the Topex/Poseidon (T/P) ocean altimetry data. We review the oceanic tidal angular momenta (OTAM) predicted by these T/P models for the eight major tides (Q₁, O₁, P₁, K₁, N₂, M₂, S₂, K₂), and their excitations on both Earth's rotational speed variation (in terms of length-of-day or UT1) and polar motion (prograde diurnal/semidiurnal components and retrograde semidiurnal components). These small, high-frequency effects have been unambiguously observed in recent years by precise Earth rotation measurements via space geodetic techniques. Here we review the comparison of the very-long-baseline-interferometry (VLBI) data with the T/P OTAM predictions. The agreement is good with discrepancies typically within 1 – 2 microseconds for UT1 and 10 – 30 microarcseconds for polar motion. The eight tides collectively explain the majority of subdaily Earth rotation variance during the intensive VLBI campaign Cont94. This establishes the dominant role of OTAM in exciting the diurnal/semidiurnal polar motion and paves the way for detailed studies of short-period non-OTAM excitations, such as atmospheric and oceanic angular momentum variations, earthquakes, the atmospheric thermal tides, Earth librations, and the response of the mantle lateral inhomogeneities to tidal forcing. These studies await further improvements in tide models and Earth rotation measurements.     

渤海沿岸4个验潮站潮汐特征分析

综合利用4个验潮站的逐时观测潮位资料,采用最小二乘原理的调和分析方法得到验潮站的潮汐调和常数。根据调和常数计算沿岸海域潮汐特征值,分析4个站位海域潮汐的时空特征。结果表明:秦皇岛附近受半日潮无潮点的影响为正规全日潮,其余3站位均为不规则半日潮性质;4个验潮站中龙口站和秦皇岛站属于弱潮海区,葫芦岛站和塘沽站属于中潮区。4个站位平均大潮差、平均小潮差、最大可能潮差与平均潮差的变化趋势基本一致,月平均潮差存在"双峰型"和"多峰型";葫芦岛验潮站、塘沽验潮站以及龙口验潮站均呈现出较不明显的潮高日不等现象;涨、落潮历时日不等,存在区域性分布。     

吕宋海峡內潮的季节变化特征及其对背景流的响应研究

基于2008年秋季至2009年夏季共9个月的锚定潜标流速资料,分析了吕宋海峡西南內潮的时空特征.谱分析结果显示,该观测点全日內潮和半日內潮较为显著,尤其体现在顺时针旋转部分.除春季第二模态占优外,全日內潮主在其余三个季节均以第一模态为主,而半日內潮呈现变化的多模态结构.此外,全日內潮的动能具有明显的季节差异,冬季能量最强,夏季紧随其后,而在春、秋两季能量最小.通过分析发现,非相干运动对此季节性特征起主要作用,它反映了內潮与背景场的相互作用.然而,半日內潮却没有显著的季节性差异,而且能量较全日內潮更小,尤其在冬季,只有全日內潮动能的三分之一.同时,半日內潮的不规则变化也是与多变的背景场相关的.半日內潮的非相干部分占到了半日內潮总能量的37%左右,而全日內潮更小一些,只有22.2%.     

南海北部沿岸海洋站的假潮

收集和分析了南海北部沿岸15个海洋站所在港湾发生假潮的资料，并对其中较大振幅的典型假潮个例，进行了港湾基态自然周期分析和假潮振动的频谱分析。研究发现，假潮最大振幅振动多发生在天文潮的高潮或低潮期间；根据海湾地形尺度用梅立恩（Merian）公式计算得出的海湾基态自然周期；和根据资料曲线估计得出的假潮周期，以及功率谱分析得出的周期，三者非常接近。从本文研究所得结果来看，这些海湾的较大振幅假潮多发生在春、夏季，且都和风速、风向以及气压的剧烈变化有关。这些大气扰动在春天多为冷空气南下，在夏季多为热带气旋活动。研究认为，假潮的发生很可能是大气振动通过外海表面波作为中间机制，与港湾自由态振动之间产生耦合共振的结果。     

Temperature variability caused by internal tides in the coastal waters of east coast of Peninsular Malaysia

The effects of tidal currents (i.e., barotropic and internal tides) are important in the biogeochemistry of a coastal shelf sea. The high-frequency of currents and near-bottom temperatures collected in three consecutive southwest monsoon seasons (May, June, July and August of 2013 until 2015) is presented to reveal the role of the tidal currents to the temperature variability in the coastal shelf sea of the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia (ECPM), south of the South China Sea (SCS). The results of a spectral density and harmonic analysis demonstrate that the near-bottom temperature variability and the tidal currents are influenced by diurnal (O₁ and K₁) and semidiurnal (M₂) tidal currents. The spectral density of residual currents (detided data) at 5, 10 and 16 m depth also shows significant peaks at the diurnal tidal frequency (K₁) and small peaks at the semidiurnal tidal frequency (M₂) indicating the existence of internal tides. The result of the horizontal kinetic energy (HKE) shows a strong intermittent energy of internal tides in the ECPM with the strongest energy is found at 16 m depth during a sporadic cooling event in June and July. A high horizontal cross-shore heat flux (16 m) also indicates strong intrusions of cooler water into the ECPM in June and July. During the short duration of cold pulse water observed in June and July, a cross-wavelet analysis also reveals the strong relationship between the near-bottom temperatures and the internal tidal currents at the diurnal tidal frequency. The intrusion of this cooler water is probably related to the monsoon-induced upwelling in June. It is loosely interpreted that the interaction between the strong barotropic tides and the steep slope in the central basin of the SCS under the stratified condition in southwest monsoon has generated these internal tides. The dissipation of internal tides from the slope area probably has driven the cold-upwelled water into the ECPM coastal shelf sea when the upwelling intensity is the highest in June and July.     

全日潮海域风暴潮增水中全日扰动和半日扰动分析

风暴潮增水是风暴潮与天文潮相互作用理论研究的基本内容,也是风暴潮预报中的重要问题。最大余水位的产生机制对于提高预报精度及海岸带防护有着重要意义。为研究全日潮海域风暴潮增水中的全日扰动和半日扰动,对Horsburgh与Wilson的风暴潮余水位模型进行了改进和扩展,建立了包括多个分潮的余水位分解方法并将其应用于防城港站,对台风"启德"和"山神"影响下的潮位过程进行了分析。结果显示,建立的余水位的分解方法对于全日分潮和半日分潮有良好的适用性。由于高频分潮产生机制的复杂性,该方法对高频分潮应用尚需进一步研究。在全日潮的防城港海域,全日扰动与半日扰动具有相同的量级,二者的和约占总增水的15%~19%。台风过程不同,相位变化项和局地变化项对增水的贡献有较大差异。     

Evidence for predominance of internal tidal currents in Sagami and Suruga bays

Tidal currents observed in a surface layer overlying deep water in Sagami and Suruga Bays frequently have large amplitude in summer and fall. Numerical experiments show that the current amplitude due to the surface tides is below 1.0 cm sec^–1 for the semidiurnal and diurnal constituents in the inner region of the two bays. The observed current amplitudes are larger than the calculated ones due to the surface tides. Therefore, the observed tidal currents are indicated to be due mainly to the internal tides. In addition, the semidiurnal currents dominate the diurnal currents in Sagami Bay, while the opposite occurs in Suruga Bay. These results suggest that the prevailing periods of the internal tides differ between the two bays,i.e., the internal tide has a semidiurnal period in Sagami Bay and a diurnal period in Suruga Bay.     

Temporal and spatial variability of sea level and volume flux in the Murderkill Estuary

The instantaneous sea level determined at two sites in the Murderkill Estuary, a tributary of Delaware Bay, results from the superposition of temporal variability operating over different time and spatial scales. Over the relatively short tidal time scales, the semidiurnal tides that represent the dominant tidal constituents in lower Delaware Bay show a modest increase in tidal amplitudes from the bay mouth (Lewes, Delaware), up to Bowers Beach (the mouth of the Murderkill Estuary). However, as the tides propagate into the Murderkill Estuary, the semidiurnal constituents undergo heavy attenuation, resulting in a 48% reduction in tidal amplitude from Bowers to Frederica (approximately the extent of saline intrusion). The diurnal tide, on the other hand, experiences only a 25% reduction in amplitude. The limited tidal asymmetry that is observed may be a result of interaction between flows in the tidal channel and the adjacent salt marsh. At longer time scales, the subtidal sea level experiences no attenuation. The Murderkill Estuary thus behaves like a low pass filter to preferentially damp out high frequency sea level forcing from lower Delaware Bay. The subtidal volume flux in the Murderkill is highly coherent with the time rate of change of sea level, indicating that the Murderkill basically co-oscillates with Delaware Bay in a standing wave fashion over the subtidal time scale. This remote coupling controls more than 90% of the variance in subtidal sea level in the estuary. The surface slopes in the lower bay and the Murderkill Estuary are closely correlated with winds along the orientation of the two waterways, consistent with the effect of local wind on subtidal sea level.     

Difference in the prevailing periods of internal tides between Sagami and Suruga Bays: Numerical experiments

Current measurements in the surface layer in Sagami and Suruga Bays showed existence of significant tidal currents which are considered to be mainly due to internal tides (Inaba, 1982; Ohwaki,ea al., 1991). In addition, the prevailing period of the tidal currents is semidiurnal in Sagami Bay, but diurnal in Suruga Bay. To explain this difference in the prevailing, periods, numerical experiments were carried out using a two layer model. The internal tides are generated on the Izu Ridge outside the two bays. The semidiurnal internal tide propagates into Sagami Bay having characteristics of an internal inertia-gravity wave, while it propagates into Suruga Bay having characteristics of either an internal inertia-gravity wave or an internal Kelvin wave. The diurnal internal tide behaves only as an internal Kelvin wave, because the diurnal period is longer than the inertia period. Thus, the diurnal internal tide generated on the Izu Ridge can be propagated into Suruga Bay, while it cannot propagate into the inner region of Sagami Bay, though it is trapped around Oshima Island, which is located at the mouth of Sagami Bay. The difference in the propagation characteristics between the semidiurnal and diurnal internal tides can give a mechanism to explain the difference in the prevailing periods of the internal tides between Sagami and Suruga Bays.