Tides on Filchner‐Ronne Ice Shelf from ERS radar altimetry

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Abstract
We use harmonic analysis of 8 years of ERS satellite radar altimeter (RA) data at orbital crossovers to retrieve complex amplitude (amplitude and phase) coefficients for several major tidal harmonics over the Filchner‐Ronne Ice Shelf (FRIS), Antarctica. We describe a method for estimating the accuracy of this method, which ranges from ∼2 to 8 cm per harmonic. A comparison between M2 complex amplitude from a recent ocean model and from our ERS RA analyses identifies two regions of the FRIS where the RA data are inconsistent with the model. In both regions the differences can be attributed to incorrect specification of the grounding line location in the model. Our study demonstrates the value of ERS RA data in Antarctic ice shelf tide modeling, and the potential for future altimeter satellites with high polar orbits to contribute to the definition of global tide height variations.