Half Lunar Cycle Mean and Maximum Tidal Currents in the Australian Region

Australian ocean tide model for the Australian shelf for the region limited by 0 degrees S to 45 degrees S and 109 degrees E to 160 degrees E (Harris et al., 2000). The resolution of the model is 0.067 degrees in both latitude and longitude. This corresponds to 7.4 km at the equator and 5.2 km at the southern-most latitude of the model domain. In the longitude direction, it corresponds to 7.4 km. The linearized, shallow-water, tide model described by Egbert et al. (1994) was used. Dissipation was approximated using a quadratic expression (see line 397 in linked report). In the Bass Strait, the model produced too small amplitudes, which was subsequently compensated for by the data assimilation. The model includes the major eight constituents M2, S2, N2, K2, K1, O1, Q1, P1. The solution was obtained using time stepping on an Arakawa C grid by applying periodic forcing and time stepping from homogeneous initial conditions. The solution was achieved in 10,000 time steps using a step length of 15 s. This corresponds to running the model for roughly 2 days. Along the open boundaries around the edges of the model a global ocean tide model by Andersen et al. (1995; version AG95.1) was used to provide boundary elevations (see also; Shum et al., 1997). This dataset suffers from frequent loss of coverage for several regions in the deep ocean. In these regions it was supplemented with data obtained from the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) bathymetry model (Smith and Sandwell, 1997)