ON THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL AND NORTH-ATLANTIC WIND FORCING ON THE SEASONAL-VARIATION OF SEA-LEVEL ON THE NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR SHELF

Sea level data from St. John's, Newfoundland, and from Nain, Labrador, are compared with results from a 1/4° × 1/4° resolution numerical model of the Newfoundland and Labrador shelf and the neighboring Labrador Sea. The model is barotropic, employs dynamics linearized about a state of rest, and uses linear bottom friction. The model is driven by the seasonal part of the Hellerman and Rosenstein wind stress field and by inflow from the rest of the North Atlantic specified along the eastern boundary. The results indicate that our simple model can account for that part of the annual cycle of sea level on the shelf directly attributable to wind forcing. -from Authors