The Effects of Winds on Water Levels on the New England Coast1

Abstract

Tidal records from Nantucket Sound, Cape Cod; Montauk, Long Island; and Portland, Maine, have been studied along with wind and barometric observations from each location. Results of this study show that departures from mean sea level due to wind may be resolved into two components. The first is a component which refers to symmetrical sinusoidal variation of sea level departure as a function of wind direction and applies to the outer coast and to the general level of Nantucket Sound in particular.The second is an asymmetrical component which refers the responses of sea level at each observing station to local wind force, direction, fetch length, and local topography. Under different circumstances these components vary in relative importance in determining the local departure from mean sea level. In addition to wind direction and velocity, duration and size of wind field may determine whether one component is more important than the other.The varying importance of each component probably governs the time‐lag between peak winds and maximum sea level departures which will vary from several hours to as much as twenty hours.