EVOLUTION OF TIDES AND TIDAL DISSIPATION OVER THE PAST 26,000 YEARS USING A MULTI-SCALE MODEL OF GLOBAL BAROTROPIC TIDES

Abstract:

In this paper we will describe the results obtained through integration of a further refined version of the truly global barotropic tidal model of Salehipour et al. (Ocean Modell., 69, 2013) using the most recent reconstruction of ice-age bathymetric conditions as embodied in the recently constructed ICE-6G_C (VM5a) model of Peltier et al. (JGR-Solid Earth, in press, 2014). Our interest is in the spatial and temporal evolution of tidal amplitude, phase and dissipation from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) 26,000 years ago until the present. The state-of-the-art higher order nonlinear tidal model of Salehipour et al. (2013) includes a highly parallelized multi-scale framework in which an unstructured tessellation of the global ocean enables extensive local refinement around regions of interest such as the Hawaiian Ridge, the Brazil Basin and the Southern Ocean. At LGM, features such as the Patagonian Shelf were fully exposed land which during the deglaciation process would have been flooded leading to significant changes of tidal range along the evolving coastline. In the further development of this model we have included the fully iterated treatment of the influence of gravitational self-attraction and loading as in, e.g. Egbert et al. (JGR-Oceans, 109, 2004). The treatment of the dissipation of the barotropic tide through dissipation of the internal tide has also been significantly improved. Our paleobathymetry and coastline data sets extend from LGM to present at 500 year intervals and constitute a significant refinement of the widely employed ICE-5G (VM2) model of Peltier (Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 32, 2004). Our results will be compared with those recently published by Green & Nycander (JPO, 43, 2013) and Wilmes & Green (JGR-Oceans, 119, 2014) as well as with the earlier results of Griffiths & Peltier (GRL, 35, 2008; J. Clim., 22, 2009).