Forced tidal response in the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

This study investigates the characteristics of tides in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and the response to forcing by local tidal potential and tides propagating as waves through straits connecting this semienclosed sea to the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Numerical simulations performed with the Navy Coastal Ocean Model run in a barotropic configuration with 1/60° horizontal resolution are used to analyze the tidal response to different forcing mechanisms. The tidal energy budget and tidal energy fluxes in the GoM are calculated from the simulations. Results show that diurnal tides in the GoM are dominantly due to co‐oscillation with the western Atlantic and that a substantial amount of semidiurnal tidal energy also enters the Gulf through the straits. Model experiments suggest that adding the local tidal potential significantly modifies the propagation of the semidiurnal tidal signal within the GoM and reduces the tidal power associated with the diurnal tides in the basin. An interesting phenomenon of nonlinear interaction between the two forcing mechanisms (local forcing and propagation through the straits) is described and explained by using a mechanistic mass‐spring system model.