A barotropic inverse tidal model for the Arctic Ocean

We describe high‐resolution (5‐km grid) linear‐dynamics and inverse models of Arctic Ocean barotropic tides obtained with the OSU Tidal Inversion Software (OTIS) package. The 8‐constituent dynamics‐based model uses the latest “IBCAO” bathymetry, and open boundary forcing from the recent TPXO.6.2 global barotropic tidal solution. This model performs significantly better than the present benchmark Arctic tidal model (14‐km grid) by Z. Kowalik and A. Proshutinsky, as judged by comparisons with ∼300 coastal tide gauges. The greatest improvements are found in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Nares Strait, and the Baffin Bay and Labrador Sea, and can be explained by the higher resolution of the new model in these topographically complex regions. The new Arctic inverse model assimilates coastal and benthic tide gauges and TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS altimetry for further improvements of the 4 dominant constituents M 2 , S 2 , K 1 and O 1 .