Observations of sea-level variability in Ross Sea, Antarctica

Abstract

Data from a new sea-level recorder station at Scott Base on Ross Island and from a long-established sea-level recorder at Cape Roberts are analysed for tides and storm surge. Tides are primarily diurnal and their amplitude reduces to almost zero every 13.66 days, corresponding to the Moon's crossing of the equator. Global tide models are shown to give a poor fit with observations in Ross Sea, and although a local tide model gives a better fit for phase, the amplitudes are still not accurate. The only atmospheric tide that is significant is the semidiurnal solar tide whose amplitude is much larger than empirical models predict. Storm surge can be largely explained by changes in atmospheric pressure. Significant storm surge events are infrequent compared to locations at lower latitudes. © 2003, Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.