Tides of the Caribbean Sea
Analysis of tidal characteristics from 45 gauge locations indicates that the Caribbean Sea has a microtidal range, for the most part between 10 and 20 cm. The tide is primarily either mixed semidiurnal or mixed diurnal but a substantial section from Puerto Rico to Venezuela experiences diurnal tides. Empirical charts of six component tides (M/sub 2/, S/sub 2/, N/sub 2/, K/sub 1/, O/sub 1/, and P/sub 1/) show local detail of phase and amplitude. Each of the semidiurnal component tides is characterized by anticlockwise rotating amphidromes centered in the eastern Caribbean. There is evidence of strong radiational forcing of the S/sub 2/ tide in the south-western Caribbean. The diurnal component tides are largely uniform in both phase and amplitude for most of the western and central Caribbean. However, the diurnal phases increase rapidly towards the northwest and the Yucatan Channel.
- Research Organization:
- Belle W. Brauch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Resarch, Marine Science Program, and Department of Geology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208
- OSTI ID:
- 6409229
- Journal Information:
- J. Geophys. Res.; (United States), Vol. 86:C5
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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