Tides
Welcome! I am so excited to dive into the science of tides with you. Before we chart our course and map out how these massive movements of water work, I would love to know a little bit about what brings you here.
How much do you already know about tides, or is there a specific mystery about them that you are most curious to solve today?
I am a complete beginner, let us start from scratch.
Starting from absolute scratch is the best way to do it! We will take this step by step, starting with the big picture of what a tide actually is before we look at the cosmic forces that shape them.
Your path
The Sun's Influence
Local Factors Affecting Tides
The Heartbeat of the Ocean
If you have ever spent a day at the beach, you have probably noticed that the shoreline does not stay in one place. Over the course of several hours, the water slowly creeps up the sand, swallowing up space where people were sunbathing. Then, just as slowly, it retreats, exposing wet sand, rocks, and tide pools.
This regular, predictable rise and fall of the ocean's water level is what we call a . It is almost like the ocean is taking a very slow, deep breath.
When the water reaches its highest point on the shore, we call it high tide. When it retreats to its lowest point, exposing the ocean floor, we call it low tide.
Now, here is the first mind-blowing thing about tides: even though this feels like a local event happening right at your beach, it is actually a massive, planet-scale wave. High tide is simply the crest (the highest peak) of this enormous wave passing by your coast, and low tide is the trough (the lowest dip) of that same wave.
To understand why this massive wave travels around our planet, we have to look up at our closest cosmic neighbor: the moon. Shall we find out how the moon pulls on our oceans?