Barotropic Tidal Energetics and Tidal Datums in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank Region

The present study simulated the barotropic tidal field in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and adjacent waters using the ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) model. A high resolution model grid of 166,131 nodes and 308,259 elements was created to represent the water area up to the mean high water (MHW) coastline. The model run was forced with harmonics constants of nine tidal constituents (M₂, S₂, N₂, K₂, K₁, P₁, O₁, Q₁, and M₄). Both tidal harmonic constants and tidal current ellipse parameters were analyzed using time series from a 32-day simulation. Tidal datum fields of mean higher high water (MHHW), MHW, mean low water (MLW), and mean lower low water (MLLW) were derived from simulated water level time series and validated/corrected using observational data. The M₂ tidal constituent was investigated with respect to energy flux and dissipation. The present study identified two major energy flux pathways: one is a broad band with high intensity in the eastern GOM, spanning from Northeast Channel (NEC) up to the Bay of Fundy (BF), and the other displays as a closed gyre residing in the central/western GOM. The spatial distribution and depth dependence of energy dissipation were explored. Energy dissipation within 30–40 m bathymetry accounted for about 13% of the total M₂ energy dissipated in the whole Gulf region.