Future Sea Level Rise and Changes on Tides in the Patagonian Continental Shelf

ABSTRACT Luz Clara, M.; Simionato, C.G.; D'Onofrio, E., and Moreira, D., 2015. Future sea level rise and changes on tides in the Patagonian Continental Shelf. We investigate the effect of the future sea level rise (SLR) on the propagation of tides in the Patagonian Shelf by means of numerical simulations. Using a barotropic implementation of the Model for Applications at Regional Scales (MARS), we obtain solutions for scenarios which represent the present condition and potential future SLRs of 1, 2, and 10 m. The effect of flooding of low-lying areas is studied, and its influence on the propagation of tides in the region is discussed. Due to the coastal morphological features and the sense of tidal wave propagation in the Southern Hemisphere, inundation does not significantly modify the solution in the Patagonian Shelf; nevertheless, results are substantially changed in the much lower Northern Argentinean Shelf, north of 40° S, where dissipation is increased. The amplitude of M2 responds to SLR in a spati...