The paper is focusing on the tides and on the strong tidal current generated in the western fjords of Svalbard. Numerical model is chosen as a tool to study the barotropic tides. Model results are compared against measured sea level and drifters. Numerical modeling and observation of tides point that the tidal amplitude does not change strongly in these fjords but the tidal currents are enhanced in several locations, namely at the entrance to the Dickson Fjord, in the narrow passages in proximity to Svea, and in the central part of Van Keulenfjorden. As the strongest currents have been found at the passages at Akseløya Island we have focused our research on this location. The narrow northern channel (Akselsundet) at Akseløya is the main waterway to Svea coal mines. Tidal currents computed and observed at the northern tip of Akseløya Island can reach amplitude from 2 to 3 m s À1 . Observation of the deployed drifters and calculation of the seeded particles in the passage at Akseløya depicted a complicated pattern of eddies. The jet-like currents and eddies are quite different at the ebb and flood tide phases. As the Akseløya Island orientation relative to the shore is different for the flood and ebb waters the flow through Akselsundet is differently constrained by this geometry. The observations show that the oscillating tidal motion causes large excursions of the water particle. The drifters released in the passage during flood ended up trapped in the eddy on the eastern side of the island. # 2015 Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier Sp. z o.o. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

The M2 internal tide in the Tasman Sea is investigated using sea surface height measurements made by multiple altimeter missions from 1992 to 2012. Internal tidal waves are extracted by two-dimensional plane wave fits in 180 km by 180 km windows. The results show that the Macquarie Ridge radiates three internal tidal beams into the Tasman Sea. The northern and southern beams propagate respectively into the East Australian Current and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and become undetectable to satellite altimetry. The central beam propagates across the Tasman Sea, impinges on the Tasmanian continental slope, and partially reflects. The observed propagation speeds agree well with theoretical values determined from climatological ocean stratification. Both the northern and central beams refract about 15° toward the equator because of the beta effect. Following a concave submarine ridge in the source region, the central beam first converges around 45.5°S, 155.5°E and then diverges beyond the focal region. The satellite results reveal two reflected internal tidal beams off the Tasmanian slope, consistent with previous numerical simulations and glider measurements. The total energy flux from the Macquarie Ridge into the Tasman Sea is about 2.2 GW, of which about half is contributed by the central beam. The central beam loses little energy in its first 1000-km propagation, for which the likely reasons include flat bottom topography and weak mesoscale eddies.

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Variability in sea ice conditions, combined with strong couplings to the atmosphere and the ocean, lead to a broad range of complex sea ice dynamics. More in-situ measurements are needed to better identify the phenomena and mechanisms that govern sea ice growth, drift, and breakup. To this end, we have gathered a dataset of in-situ observations of sea ice drift and waves in ice. A total of 15 deployments were performed over a period of 5 years in both the Arctic and Antarctic, involving 72 instruments. These provide both GPS drift tracks, and measurements of waves in ice. The data can, in turn, be used for tuning sea ice drift models, investigating waves damping by sea ice, and helping calibrate other sea ice measurement techniques, such as satellite based observations.