Baroclinic Tides Simulation in the Red Sea: Comparison to Observations and Basic Characteristics

Abstract

The baroclinic tides in the Red Sea are simulated using a three‐dimensional, nonhydrostatic, high‐resolution Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model. Various observations have been used to validate the simulation results. A good match between the model results and observations from five tidal gauges has been obtained. Tidal amplitude and phase data from 21 tidal stations present high correlation coefficients and low deviations with the model results. Comparisons between model and Oregon State University Tidal Inversion Software data suggest consistent results, with only small discrepancies at the locations of the amphidromic points. Tidal currents from four mooring observations are in good agreement with the simulation results, with discrepancies appearing in shallow areas and those with complex bottom topography. Based on the simulation results, the basic characteristics of baroclinic tides in the Red Sea are analyzed. The properties of barotropic tides, and distribution of the forcing function parameter, indicate that the baroclinic tides are generated mainly in four areas: the Bab‐el‐Mandeb (BAM) Strait, the southern Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez, and the Strait of Tiran. This is confirmed by the spatial distributions of baroclinic tidal kinetic energy and energy flux. The properties of the conversion rate from barotropic tides to baroclinic tides, and the divergence of baroclinic energy flux, further reveal quantitatively that the southern Red Sea features the most of the generated baroclinic energy. The majority of the baroclinic energy disappears within the four areas, either dissipating due to friction and bottom drag or converting back to barotropic energy.

Seasonal M2 Internal Tides in the Arabian Sea

“…In the Red Sea, we identified three main sources of internal tides as indicated by the blue rectangles in Figure 3: the northern Red Sea, southern Red Sea, and Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb (BAM); these locations are in agreement with those identified in previous studies [39][40][41]. A series of hourly snapshots reveals more details about the generation sites and propagation directions (not shown).…”

“…Further, southeastward signals are observed to the south of the Farasan Islands, probably associated with the topography: when internal tides reach the Farasan Islands, the signals are split in two by the topography, with one moving toward the northeast and the other moving toward the southeast. Similar phenomena were reported in the southern Red Sea using numerical simulations [41,42] and satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery [39]. Some common features of internal tides can be extracted from both Figures 3 and 5b.…”

Towards an End-to-End Analysis and Prediction System for Weather, Climate, and Marine Applications in the Red Sea

“…DOI S 10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0005.1. (Yao and Hoteit 2018), eddy characteristics (Zhan et al 2016;, and internal/baroclinic tides (Guo et al 2018). In addition, the adjoint model of MITgcm is being used to conduct sensitivity studies of quantities-of-interest with respect to the model states and atmospheric forcings .…”

Hazard assessment of oil spills along the main shipping lane in the Red Sea

“…The model is forced with the aforementioned WRF reanalysis fields and the European Union Copernicus Marine Service Information (CMSEM) global ocean reanalysis fields 44 at the open boundary in the Gulf of Aden on a 6-h and 24-h basis, respectively. The outputs of the Red Sea MITgcm have been extensively used to study the general and overturning circulations 30 , 31 , mesoscale eddies characteristics 33 , 34 , 36 , internal/baroclinic tides 45 , deep-water formation events 46 as well as chlorophyll variability 47 , 48 .…”