A method of accounting for tidal changes in regional climates of a water basin under conditions of an ice-free Barents Sea

Abstract

To account for tidal variations in the regional climate of a water basin, we propose adding up the vertical eddy diffusivity, determined by wind and thermohaline forcings, and the diapycnal diffusivity, determined from the solution to the problem of the internal tidal wave (ITW) dynamics. This approach agrees with the approximation of “weak interaction” between turbulence of various origins. Then, the hydrothermodynamics equations are integrated with and without regard for ITW-induced diapycnal diffusion until a quasistationary solution is reached. Next we compare these solutions, found by using the 3D finite-element hydrostatic model QUODDY-4. This comparison shows that the contribution of tides to the formation of the Barents Sea climate in summer is not negligible with respect to certain hydrological characteristics. We present the fields of the dynamic topography of a free surface, surface current velocities, and seawater temperature and salinity at the depth of the pycnocline in the sea to illustrate the occurrence of tidal effects.