Tides why it happens

As the Earth rotates beneath the Moon, a single spot will experience two high tides and two low tides every day. The tidal range is the difference between the ocean level at high tide and the ocean at low tide Figure below. The tidal range in a location depends on a number of factors, including the slope of the seafloor. Water appears to move a greater distance on a gentle slope than on a steep slope.

So when the Sun and Moon are aligned, what do you expect the tides to look like? Waves are additive so when the gravitational pull of both bodies is in the same direction the high tides add and the low tides add Figure below. Highs are higher and lows are lower than at other times through the month. These more extreme tides, with a greater tidal range, are called spring tides. Spring tides occur when the tidal bulges from the Moon and Sun are aligned. The Moon is full in this image; in the bottom image the Moon would appear as a new Moon.

Neap tides are tides that have the smallest tidal range, and they occur when the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun form a 90 o angle Figure below. How do the tides add up to create neap tides? At neap tides, the tidal range relatively small. Neap tides occur when the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon form a right angle; the Moon is in its first or third quarter.

High tides occur about twice a day, about every 12 hours and 25 minutes. The reason is that the Moon takes 24 hours and 50 minutes to rotate once around the Earth so the Moon is over the same location 24 hours and 50 minutes later. Since high tides occur twice a day, one arrives each 12 hours and 25 minutes. What is the time between a high tide and the next low tide? Some coastal areas do not follow this pattern at all.

These coastal areas may have one high and one low tide per day or a different amount of time between two high tides. These differences are often because of local conditions, such as the shape of the coastline that the tide is entering. The point facing the moon is formed because the gravitational pull of the moon is strongest on whichever side of the Earth faces it.

Gravity pulls the ocean towards the moon and high tide occurs. The bulge on the far side of the Earth is caused by inertia. The water moving away from the moon resists the gravitational forces that attempt to pull it in the opposite direction. Because the gravitational pull of the moon is weaker on the far side of the Earth, inertia wins, the ocean bulges out and high tide occurs.

As the Earth spins, different areas of the planet face the moon, and this rotation causes the tides to cycle around the planet. NOS scientists advanced tidal recording systems as well as satellite imagery to monitor tides and water levels.

It is high tide when water covers much of the shore by rising to its highest level. It is low tide when water falls to its lowest level and recedes from the shore. Characteristics of Tides. Sea level rises over several hours, covering the intertidal zone; flood tide. Sea level falls over several hours, revealing the intertidal zone; ebb tide. What is Hurricane and how it is formed?

Why does Tide occur? Source: media1. It is caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of Earth. Types of tides. Spring Tides. The term 'Spring' term is derived from the concept of the tide " springing forth ". It occur during the full moon and new moon days when the sun, the moon and the earth are in the same line twice each lunar month all year long, without regard to the season. It occur when the moon is in its first and last quarter, the ocean waters get drawn in diagonally opposite directions by the gravitational pull of sun and earth resulting in low tides.