Global Baroclinic Tide Harmonic Constants for Sea Surface Height and Currents

Harmonic constants predict baroclinic tidal sea surface height and ocean surface currents globally at five key frequencies (M2, S2, N2, K1, O1). The dataset was produced by researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Miami, combining roughly 30 years of satellite altimeter data and 20 years of drifting buoy data from 1993 to 2021. It provides uniformly gridded estimates at 1/20-degree resolution using a kinematic wave model and internal wave polarization relations.

Use Cases

• Predicting baroclinic tidal sea surface height at arbitrary times and locations using the provided harmonic constants and software.
• Forecasting baroclinic tidal surface ocean currents to aid in the planning of observational campaigns.
• Computing corrections to remove baroclinic tidal variability from satellite altimeter sea level anomaly observations.
• Optimizing the design of future satellite missions for mapping ocean surface currents.

Strengths

• Derived from a long observational record incorporating roughly 30 years of multi-satellite altimeter data.
• Provides high-resolution global coverage on a 1/20-degree latitude/longitude grid.
• Includes associated open-source software for making tidal predictions, which is regularly updated.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and a complete column schema are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, with one listing 2026-03-13 and another listing 2021-01-01.
• The license is specified as 'other-license-specified' but the exact terms are not detailed.

Provenance

Source

Edward Zaron (Oregon State University) and Shane Elipot (University of Miami).

Collection Method

Observations combined with a kinematic wave model and internal wave polarization relations to create gridded estimates from sparse satellite altimeter and drifting buoy data.

Time Range

1993 to 2021

Freshness

2026-03-13

Geography

Global ocean coverage.