Tidal response to sea‐level rise (SLR) varies in different coastal systems. To provide a generic pattern of tidal response to SLR, a systematic investigation was conducted using numerical techniques applied to idealized and realistic estuaries, with model results cross‐checked by analytical solutions. Our results reveal that the response of tidal range to SLR is nonlinear, spatially heterogeneous, and highly affected by the length and bathymetry of an estuary and weakly affected by the estuary convergence with an exception of strong convergence. Contrary to the common assumption that SLR leads to a weakened bottom friction, resulting in increased tidal amplitude, we demonstrate that tidal range is likely to decrease in short estuaries and in estuaries with a narrow channel and large low‐lying shallow areas.

[1] This article proposes a technique to map the tidal winds in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region from the observations of a four-station meteor radar chain located at middle-and low-latitudes along the 120 E meridian in the Northern Hemisphere. A 1 month dataset of the horizontal winds in the altitude range of 80-100 km is observed during December 2011. We first decompose the tidal winds into mean, diurnal, semidiurnal, and terdiurnal components for each station. It is found that the diurnal/semidiurnal components dominate at the low-latitude/midlatitude stations. Their amplitudes increase at lower altitudes and then decrease at higher altitudes after reaching a peak in the MLT region. Hough functions of the classical tidal theory are then used to fit the latitudinal distribution of each decomposed component. The diurnal component is found to be dominated by the first symmetric (1, 1) mode. Yet for the semidiurnal and terdiurnal components, the corresponding dominant modes are the second symmetric modes (2, 4) and (3, 5), and considerable contributions are also from the first antisymmetric modes (2, 3), (3, 4) and second antisymmetric modes (2, 5), (3, 6). Based on the decomposed results, we further map the horizontal winds in the domains of latitude, altitude and local time. The mapped horizontal winds successfully reproduce the local time versus altitudinal distributions of the original observations at the four stations. Thus, we conclude that the meteor radar chain is useful to monitor and study the regional characteristics of the tidal winds in the MLT region.

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Highlights  Complex physical processes in Chesapeake Bay and the adjacent shelf are investigated by a cross-scale baroclinic model.  Recently developed techniques are applied, including a flexible vertical grid system, an implicit transport solver, etc.  Good model skills are achieved with the techniques mentioned above and an accurate representation of bathymetry.  The importance of bathymetry for estuarine modeling and the effect of bathymetry smoothing are discussed quantitatively.

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