Frictional influence on sea level oscillations in Otago Harbour, New Zealand

Abstract

Oscillations in Otago Harbour, (45° 49’ S, 170° 38’ E) produced by the 1960 Chilean Tsunami are found by spectral analysis to have most of their energy at a period of about 80 min. By numerically integrating a one‐dimensional linear momentum equation and the continuity equation for various sections of the harbour, this period is found to correspond to the quarter wavelength oscillation in the main channel between the mouth of the harbour and the Halfway Islands. The large value of the linear frictional coefficient, calculated from the phase of the tide in the harbour, and the resulting excessive damping, indicates why long period non‐tidal oscillations are generally not found in the harbour.