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Tidal Phenomena pp 145–171Cite as

Earth tides and ocean tidal loading

  • Ocean Tides And Related Phenomena
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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences ((LNEARTH,volume 66))

Abstract

The tidal deformation of the solid earth is superimposed by the loading effect caused by the ocean tides. There are two contributions: the attraction of the moving water masses and the deformation of the crust due to the water load. Thus, the elasticity of the local crust-mantle structure controls the response. The distribution of the continents and the topography of the ocean bottom avoid a uniform response of the ocean to the tidal forces. Therefore, the tidal loading signal is generally not in phase with the body tides.

The different transfer functions for gravity, tilt, and strain result in different loading effects as well: The loading signal in gravity is close to the ocean mostly smaller than the body tide, but it can still be observed at great distances from the oceans. On the other hand, in tilt and strain the loading signal may surmount the body tide close to the coast, but it vanishes below the noise level far from the coast. Therefore, tidal gravity provides an independent tool to constrain ocean tidal models, whereas tidal tilt and strain can be used to determine local crustal structures.

The vertical displacement due to ocean tidal loading may reach values of more than a decimeter close to the coasts, and it must be taken into account for high precision earth monitoring. Models for the correction of the body tides exist, but since there is still no global ocean tidal model available that also fits all the shelf tides further gravity measurements are needed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Burgweg 11, D-07749, Jena, Germany

    Gerhard Jentzsch

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  1. Gerhard Jentzsch
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Helmut Wilhelm Walter Zürn Hans-Georg Wenzel

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© 1997 Springer-Verlag

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Jentzsch, G. (1997). Earth tides and ocean tidal loading. In: Wilhelm, H., Zürn, W., Wenzel, HG. (eds) Tidal Phenomena. Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences, vol 66. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0011461

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0011461

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-62833-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-68700-9

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