Determination of the tide constituents at Livingston and Deception Islands (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica), using annual time series

Abstract

A detailed study is presented of the tidal constituents for Livingston and Deception Islands (Antarctica) obtained at the LIVMAR and DECMAR tide gauge stations. Data were acquired with tide gauge pressure sensors, and calculated from a long time series of 798 days of data-logging, using the least-squares harmonic estimation method. The results show an improvement over previous results in the region. Seventy tidal constituents were obtained, of which 19 were the most representative with amplitudes greater than 1 cm and a contribution of 93% of the wave energy. In both stations, it was confirmed that the tides are mixed, with a semi-diurnal behavior. The tidal gauge benchmarks (TGBMs) were linked to vertical and horizontal Antarctic Geodetic Networks, which provides a very important contribution for geodetic, oceanographic and hydrographic studies in the area.