CoAuthors

Damien Allain (CNRS, France)

While barotropic tides models in deep ocean regions meets the requirements for the precise and accurate correction of tides in altimetry missions, barotropic tides in shelf and coastal seas and baroclinic tides in global ocean still are challenging. The forthcoming SWOT mission will also dramatically rise the level of the tidal challenge. The approach developed in LEGOS in based on hydrodynamical modeling (T-UGOm unstructured grid model) and data assimilation methodology, that is currently being extended from 2D (barotropic) to 3D (baroclinic). If data assimilation can successfully improve our tidal atlases, its limitation must be combat by improving the hydrodynamical solutions as much as feasible. In recent years (i.e. since 2004), errors in M2 barotropic tide hydrodynamic simulation has been reduced by a factor 4, with an immediate benefit to data assimlation (FES2014). Efforts and progress achieved to reduce the gap between simulation and truth for barotropic tides and our first steps for the baroclinic tides will be presented.