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Unit 8 - Tides

Unit 8 - Tides. What are Tides?. Tides are the periodic raising and lowering of ocean sea level Tides are very long shallow water waves Caused by combination of gravity and motion between Earth, Moon, and Sun Isaac Newton’s gravitational laws explain the tides. Gravitational Forces.

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Unit 8 - Tides

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  1. Unit 8 - Tides

  2. What are Tides? • Tides are the periodic raising and lowering of ocean sea level • Tides are very long shallow water waves • Caused by combination of gravity and motion between Earth, Moon, and Sun • Isaac Newton’s gravitational laws explain the tides

  3. Gravitational Forces • Gravitational force is greatest at zenith– closest to moon • Gravitational force is lowest at nadir– furthest from moon and opposite zenith

  4. Centripetal Forces • Centripetal force tethers the Earth and Moon to each other (keeps them in orbit) • Centripetal force is equal on all parts of the earth

  5. Resultant Forces produce tides • The resultant force is the difference between gravitational and centripetal forces • It is the relatively small force that produces the tides

  6. Resultant Forces • The resultant force pushes water into two simultaneous bulges • One toward Moon • One away from Moon

  7. Tidal Bulges – Moon’s Effect

  8. Tidal Periods • Tidal period – time between high tides • Lunar day - Time between two successive overhead moons equal to 24 hours, 50 minutes • High tides are 12 hours and 25minutes apart (2 per lunar day)

  9. Tidal Bulges – Sun’s Effect • Similar to lunar bulges but much smaller (only 46% of the lunar bulge) • The moons effect on tides is greater because it is so much closerthan the sun ( Video )

  10. Monthly Tidal Cycle • Spring tides • New or full moons when sun and moon are in alignment • Tidal range is the greatest • Syzygy – when celestial bodies are in alignment • Neap tides • Quarter moons when sun and moon are at right angles relative to the Earth. • Tidal range is the lowest • Quadrature– when celestial bodies are at right angles

  11. Spring and Neap Tides

  12. Complicating Factors • Declination– Angular distance of the Moon or Sun above or below Earth’s equator • Sun to Earth: 23.5 degrees north or south of equator • Moon to Earth: 28.5 degrees north or south of equator • Lunar and solar bulges shift from equator • This produces unequal (mixed) tides at different spots around the world

  13. Declination and Tidal Bulges

  14. Effects of declination on tides

  15. Elliptical Orbits add Complication • Earth around Sun: • Tidal range greatest at perihelion(January) • Tidal range least at aphelion(July) • Moon around Earth: • Tidal range greatest at perigee(Moon closest to Earth) • Tidal range least at apogee(Moon furthest from Earth) • Perigee–apogee cycle is 27.5 days

  16. Relative sizes of the moon

  17. Effects of Elliptical Orbits

  18. Actual tides are more complex • Continents and friction with seafloormodify tidal bulges • Tides are shallow-water waves with speeddetermined by depth of water • Idealized tidal bulges cannot form because they cannot keep up with Earth’s rotation

  19. Where do the tides start? • Tides start in the centersof the world’s oceans. • Tides act like water swirling in a bowl. • There will be a node in the center where the water level never rises or falls.

  20. Amphidromic Points Cotidal map shows tides rotate around amphidromic points. There are 140 amphidromic points in the world’s oceans. Amphidromic Points Figure 9-14

  21. Cotidal Lines • Cotidal lines show where high tides occur at the same time

  22. Spidey Says… “if you don’t understand amphidromic points I’m going to bite you!”

  23. Tidal circulation • Tides progress around basins, clockwisein S hemisphere and counterclockwisein N hemisphere

  24. Animation of Tidal Elevations in the Pacific

  25. Tidal Patterns • Diurnal One high tide and one low tide per day • Semidiurnal Two equal high and low tides per day • Mixed Two unequal high and low tides per day (most common type)

  26. Tidal Patterns in the U.S.

  27. Tidal Graphs • Tidal graphs show all the tidal patterns for a locationover time. • Spring and neap tides • Diuranal, mixed, or semidiuranal tides.

  28. Flood and Ebb Currents • Flood current is when the tide is coming in. • Ebbcurrent is when the tide is going out

  29. Tides in Coastal Waters • Tide waves are reflectedby coastlines producing complicated effects • This can amplify the tidal range • Cook Inlet Alaska and the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia are examples of extreme tides caused by coastal effects

  30. Cook Inlet Tides

  31. The Bay of Fundy • Tidal Range is the difference between high tide and low tide. The Bay of Fundy in Canada has the greatest tidal range on the planet -56 ft. • Nova Scotia bends when the tide comes in! • As 14 billion tons of sea water flow into Minas Basin twice daily, the Nova Scotia countryside actually tilts lightly under the immense load ! Video Bay of Fundy tidal bore

  32. Bay of Fundy – World’s Largest Tidal Range

  33. Tidal Bores • The wave on the incoming (flood) tide in certain rivers is known as a Tidal Bore. • Tidal bores occur in about 100 rivers throughout the world. • The QiantangBore in China reaches heights of 15 ft. and travels 15 mph. Video • The Pororoca, in the Amazon River, forms waves 12 ft. high and can reach speeds of 20 mph. • The Severn Bore in England is a popular one to surf as shown below. Qiantang Bore Surfing the Severn Bore

  34. Whirlpools! • Rapidly spinning seawater • Occur in restricted channels connecting two basins with different tidal cycles • The Maelstrom in Norway is the world’s largest whirlpool Video

  35. Tide-Generated Power • Renewableenergy source but not yet widely used. • Possible harmful environmental effects from blocking tidal currents • Oldest was built in France in the 1960s • Largest was finished in South Korea this year (2011)

  36. Power Plant at La Rance, France

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