A high resolution tidal model for the area around The Lofoten Islands, northern Norway

A depth-integrated numerical model with grid resolution 500 m has been used to simulate tides around the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway. The model spans more than 3° latitude and covers a sea area of approximately 1.2×105 km2. The fine spatial resolution resolves the important fine scale features of the bottom topography on the shelf and the complex coastline with fjords and islands. Boundary conditions at the oceanic sides of the model domain are obtained by interpolation from a large-scale tidal model covering the Nordic Seas and implemented with the flow relaxation scheme (FRS). The semi-diurnal components M2, S2 and N2 and the diurnal component K1 are simulated. Harmonic constants for sea level are compared with observations from 21 stations. The best fit is found for the M2 component with a standard deviation between the observed and modelled amplitude and phase of 2.3 cm and 2.5°, respectively. The standard deviation for the other smaller components ranges between 1.5–2.8 cm and 5.3–16.7°. Current fields from the model are compared with observations in four locations: the Moskenes sound, the Gimsøy channel, the Tjeldsund channel and the Sortland channel. In the Sortland channel, the model predicts a dominant diurnal K1 current in agreement with observations.