CoAuthors

Martin Saraceno (CIMA/CONICET-UBA, Argentina)

The objective of this work is to compare the sea level response to pressure and wind forcing of (i) a global barotropic model (MOG2D: Modèle aux Ondes de Gravitè 2-Dimensions) and (ii) a regional barotropic model (HamSOM: Hamburg Shelf Ocean Model) in the La Plata River Estuary. The modeled sea-level response are compared and evaluated on the basis of coastal tide gauges and satellite altimetry data. The La Plata River Estuary, located in the eastern coast of South America at proximately 35ºS, is one of the largest estuaries of the world. Previous studies have shown that in this extensive and shallow region the estuarine circulation is mainly forced by the river run-off and wind variability, especially at sub-annual scales. Thus the atmospheric model correction that must be applied to the altimetry data is crucial in this region. Results show that with both models the variance of the sea level is reduced in comparison with the classical inverted barometric correction. Main differences between the models arise according to the region: When the atmospheric correction is applied to altimetry data, HamSOM farther reduces the sea level variance in the upper estuary. On the other hand, MOG2D farther reduces sea level variance in the middle and lower estuary.