A survey of recent changes in the main components of the ocean tide

Changes in the ocean tide during the 20th century have been reported for several parts of the world by different authors. However, it has not always been clear whether the observed changes have been local or regional in scale. This paper reports on a survey of tidal changes in recent decades using a quasi-global data set of tide gauge information. Little evidence has been found in Europe or the Far East (including Australasia and Asia) for the extensive regional changes to the main tidal constituents reported recently for N America. However, evidence for change in smaller regions can be identified wherever the density of tide gauge information allows. Therefore, it seems that tidal changes may be commonplace around the world, although not necessarily with large spatial scales. All of the reported changes have been difficult to explain. However, it is hoped that quasi-global surveys such as the present one may eventually provide further insights. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.