On the Approximation of Spatial Structures of Global Tidal Magnetic Field Models

Abstract. The extraction of the magnetic signal induced by the oceanic M2 tide is typically based solely on the temporal periodicity of the signal. Here, we propose a system of tailored trial functions that additionally takes the spatial constraint into account that the sources of the signal are localized within the oceans. This construction requires knowledge of the underlying conductivity model but not of the inducing tidal current velocity. Approximations of existing tidal magnetic field models with these trial functions and comparisons with approximations based on other localized and non-localized trial functions are illustrated.