Modelling the pole tide and its effect on the Earth's rotation |
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| Authors: | James A Carton John M Wahr |
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| Institution: | Center for Earth and Planetary Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA;Department of Physics and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA |
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| Abstract: | Summary. The pole tide is the response of the ocean to incremental centrifugal forces associated with the Chandler wobble. The tide has a potentially important effect on the period and damping of the wobble, but it is at present not well constrained by observations. Here, we construct both analytical and numerical models for the pole tide. The analytical models consider the tide first in a global ocean and then in an enclosed basin on a beta-plane. The results are found to approach equilibrium linearly with decreasing frequency and inversely with increasing basin depth. The numerical models solve Laplace's tidal equations over the world's oceans using realistic continental boundaries and bottom topography. The results indicate that the effects of the non-equilibrium portion of the deep ocean tide on the Chandler wobble period and damping are negligible. |
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| Keywords: | Chandler wobble Earth's rotation pole tide tides wobble |
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