Abstract
Sea level comprises a mean level, tidal elevation and a residual elevation. Knowledge of what causes maximum water levels is often key in coastal management. However, different methods to extract deviations in water level (residuals) from modelled and observed elevation can give different results. The Dee Estuary, northwest England is a macrotidal estuary that undergoes periodic stratification. It is used here to demonstrate methods to extract the residual water level in response to the following interactive processes: tidal, river-induced stratification and flow, meteorology and waves. Using modelling techniques, the interaction and contribution of different physical processes are investigated. Classical harmonic tidal analysis, model simulations and filtering techniques have been used to “de-tide” the total elevation for short-term (approximately month long) records. Each technique gives a different result highlighting the need to select the correct method for a required study. Analysis of the residual components demonstrates that all processes inducing residuals interact with the tide generating a semi-diurnal residual component. It is suggested that modelling methods enable the full effect of tidal interaction to remain in the residual, whilst harmonic tidal analysis (partly) modify and filtering methods (fully) remove this component of the residual. The analysis methods presented and their influences on the resultant residual are applicable to other study sites. However, when applied specifically to the mouth of the Dee Estuary, the external surge is found to be the main contributor to the total residual, whilst local wind and stratification effects are of secondary importance.
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Acknowledgments
This research has been carried out as part of Oceans 2025, the FORMOST project (NERC grant NE/E015026/1) and the Field_AC project (EC grant 24284). Jane Williams (NOC) is thanked for providing the operational surge model output and meteorological (wind and pressure) data, whilst Clare O'Neill is thanked for providing the offshore temperature and salinity fields to the Irish Sea and supplementing the meteorological forcing with air temperature, humidity, and cloud cover to enable full atmospheric forcing.
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Brown, J.M., Bolaños, R., Howarth, M.J. et al. Extracting sea level residual in tidally dominated estuarine environments. Ocean Dynamics 62, 969–982 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-012-0543-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-012-0543-7