Impact of Discrepancies between Global Ocean Tide Models on Tidal Simulations in the Shinnecock Bay Area

Abstract

Global ocean tide models have previously been reported to have substantial discrepancies in shallow coastal waters. Despite this, tidal forcing along the open boundaries of near-shore numerical hydrodynamic models is often driven by interpolating data of a global ocean tide model. This study compared tidal constants of two altimetry-constrained tide models [Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/POSEION Crossover Solution 8 (TPXO8) and Finite Element Solution 2014 (FES2014)] along the open boundary of a model in the Shinnecock Bay area of southern Long Island, New York, to investigate global ocean tide models’ discrepancies in this shallow-water location. The two tide models showed discrepancies of up to 1.18 cm in the predominant M2 tidal constituent and up to 1.69 cm in the O1 tidal constituent along the open boundary. To assess the impacts of the tide models’ discrepancies on tidal simulations, both tide models were used to force two different hydrodynamic models [Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM) and Advanced Circulation Model (ADCIRC)]. On the basis of several performance measures, the authors conclude that tidal simulation results were affected more by the algorithm utilized rather than the choice of tide model, more so in the bay than in the open ocean.