OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE POLE TIDE by STEPHEN

Spectral analysis has been applied to virtually all of the world's long tide records in a search for a signal at the frequency of the Chandler wobble. In Northern Europe the amplitudes are two to ten times greater than equilibrium. Hints of a pole tide are observed at a few other stations, but at most locations the tide does not stand out above the noise continuum. A host of theoretical explanations are rejected because they do not fit the observed large amplitude of the pole tide, and its significant variation along a coast line. In addition, a curious, highly coherent progression of sea level variations to the east across Northern Europe is discovered, with components from DC to 80 days period.