Large sea, small tides: the Late Carboniferous seaway of NW Europe.

Debate surrounds the extent of tidal influence in Palaeozoic shallow epi-continental seas. In the absence of analogical reasoning, numerical modelling provides a quantitative means of investigating tidality in the geological record. Herein a new finite element model, tested for accuracy on the present-day Mediterranean, is used to predict an exceedingly low tidal range (<10 cm) in the epi-continental seaway that covered much of NW Europe during the Late Carboniferous. This small bulge may have been amplified to c. 1 m in estuaries, leading to the localized deposition of cyclic rhythmites, agreeing with geological observations. Extremely low tidal ranges in ancient epi-continental seas may be one mechanism to prevent water-body mixing, enhancing stratification and promoting anoxia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]