New Determinations of the Ages of Tide in the North Atlantic Ocean

Ages of tide provide relevant information about the spatial distribution of existing anomalies in the normal modes of the oceans, because a delay may be associated with bottom friction energy dissipation, closely located resonances, bathymetric gradients, or radiational effects. The determination of other parameters, such as the age of diurnal tide or age of parallax, also provide further knowledge about the ocean's hydrodynamical response to acting forces. Following the development of new ocean models and the availability of a greater amount of data, these parameters can be redetermined. We present the spatial distribution of these parameters in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, obtained from 507 stations. The results are discussed in terms of bathymetric models, coastal features, sea surface temperature, wind and other environmental factors.

Keywords:

• Age of tide
• Oceanic resonances
• North Atlantic Ocean
• Mediterranean Sea
• Harmonic analysis

This work has been carried out in the framework of the Project Ref. REN2001-2271, “Geodesic network, space technical and gravimetry applied to the study of the structure and dynamic of the crust in Canary Island.”