I. P. Medvedev, A. B. Rabinovich, and E. A. Kulikov
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
e-mail: medvedev@ocean.ru
Received April 5, 2013
Abstract—The pole tide, which is driven by the Chandler Wobble, has a period of about 14 months and typical
amplitudes in the World Ocean of ~0.5 cm. However, in the Baltic Sea the pole tide is anomalously high. To
examine this effect we used long-term hourly sea level records from 23 tide gauges and monthly records from
64 stations. The lengths of the series were up to 123 years for hourly records and 211 years for monthly records.
High-resolution spectra revealed a cluster of neighboring peaks with periods from 410 to 440 days. The results
of spectral analysis were applied to estimate the integral amplitudes of pole tides from all available tide gauges
along the coast of the Baltic Sea. The height of the pole tide was found to gradually increase from the entrance
(Danish Straits, 1.5–2 cm) to the northeast end of the sea. The largest amplitudes—up to 4.5–7 cm—were
observed in the heads of the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Significant temporal fluctuations in ampli-
tudes and periods of the pole tide were observed during the 19th and 20th centuries.
DOI: 10.1134/S0001437014020179
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