Calculating tidal current profiles from vertically integrated models near the critical latitude in the Barents Sea

Abstract

The method of extracting current profiles from vertically integrated hydrodynamic models is extended to incorporate more general boundary conditions, and the consistency of the method is investigated. Using this method, the tidal current profiles for semidiurnal and diurnal constituents are studied in high latitudes near the critical latitude, where the Coriolis frequency equals the tidal frequency for the semidiurnal tide. The current profiles are computed at stations in the Barents Sea where current measurements exist at up to six different depths. The observation stations are located close to the critical latitude for the largest semidiurnal constituents, and the current profiles are therefore sensitive to variations of magnitude and vertical distribution of the eddy viscosity. At this latitude the current is strongly depth dependent, and in deep water the tidal ellipse changes direction of rotation near the seabed. At four of the stations there are under‐ice measurements, and the effects of an ice‐covered ocean upon the tidal current profiles are also investigated.