An empirical model of the tidal currents in the Gulf of the Farallones

Candela et al. (1990, 1992) showed that tides in an open ocean region can b e resolved using velocity data from a ship-mounted ADC-P. We use their meth od to build a spatially varying model of the tidal currents in the Gulf of the Farallones, an area of complicated bathymetry where the tidal velocitie s in some parts of the region are weak compared to the mean currents. We de scribe the tidal fields for the M-2, S-2, K-1, and O-1 constituents and sho w that this method is sensitive to the model parameters and the quantity of input data. In areas with complex bathymetry and tidal structures, a large amount of spatial data is needed to resolve the tides. A method of estimat ing the associated errors inherent in the model is described. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.