Barotropic tides in the South Atlantic Bight ...

• Main Authors: Lynch, D.R., Luettich, R.A., Jr., Seim, H.E., Blanton, B.O., Werner, F.E., Bingham, F.M., Voulgaris, G., Smith, K.W., Way, F.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries 2004
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17615/h8fv-a382; https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/articles/6t053r492

The characteristics of the principal barotropic diurnal and semidiurnal tides are examined for the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) of the eastern United States coast. We combine recent observations from pressure gauges and ADCPs on fixed platforms and additional short-term deployments off the Georgia and South Carolina coasts together with National Ocean Service coastal tidal elevation harmonics. These data have shed light on the regional tidal propagation, particularly off the Georgia/South Carolina coast, which is perforated by a dense estuary/tidal inlet complex (ETIC). We have computed tidal solutions for the western North Atlantic Ocean on two model domains. One includes a first-order representation of the ETIC in the SAB, and the other does not include the ETIC. We find that the ETIC is highly dissipative and affects the regional energy balance of the semidiurnal tides. Nearshore, inner, and midshelf model skill at semidiurnal frequencies is sensitive to the inclusion of the ETIC. The numerical solution ...