.

]'OUR•AL
o• GEOPHYSICAL
RESEARCH VOLUME
64, No. 12 DECEMBEr,
1959

Formulasfor Computingthe Tidal Accelerations

Due to the Moon and the Sun

I. M. LONGMAN

Instituteof Geophysics,
Universityof California
Los Angeles, California

Abstract--Asummary of formulas withwhichthe tidalaccelerations

dueto the moonand
the suncanbe computed at any giventime for any pointon the earth'ssurface,
without
reference
to tables,is presentedin thispaper.Theseformulasareconvenient
for computeruse.

Introduction--The basic formulas for the resulting expressionswere used in a goprogram

computationof the vertical and horizontal for an IBM 709 computer.In view of the useful-
components goand h0,on nessof this programit appearsto the author
of tidal acceleration,
a rigid earthhavebeengivenby a numberof that a summary of the formulas used is of
authors.The analysisis given,for example,by interest.
Doodson [1921],Schureman [1924],Pettit [1954],
and Barrels[1957].A goodaccountis alsogiven T/•eory--The symbolsused in this discussion
are
by Doodson
and Warburg[1941].Schureman's
manual was reissued as a revised edition in a earth's equatorial radius (6.378270
1941, but in this paper references
are given l0 s cm)
to the older edition in caseswhere a particular a' definedin equation(31)
formula no longerappearsin the new edition, a/defined in equation(32)
or a result is lessaccuratelygiven there. The A ascendingintersection of moon's orbit
essentialfirst step in all theseformulationsis with the equator
the expression
of the effectivetidal acceleration c mean distance between centers of the
in termsof the zenith angleand the distanceof earth and the moon
the tide-producingbody.From this point there c• mean distance between centers of the
are two main lines of development.Doodson, earth and the sun [1.495000X 10•3 cm)
Schureman,and Barrelsproceededto develop [Pettit, 1954]
the lunar and soIar tides into their harmonic C definedin equation(34)
constituents,whereas Pettit gave formulas d distance between centers of the earth
with which the tidal forces can be computed and the moon
with the aid of tablesfrom the AmericanNautical D distance between centers of the earth
Almanac. and the sun
The author was recently engagedin program- e eccentricityof thetoOOh'S orbit (0.054899720
inggofor an electronic
computer.
The computer [Shureman, 1924, p. 172]; 0.05490 [Shure-
wasto displaygoas a functionof time for any man, 1941,p. 162])
givenplaceon the earth'ssurface,startingat e• eccentricityof the earth'sorbit
any givenepoch.For this purposeit seemed go vertical componentof tidal acceleration
desirableto use a closedform for the expression due to the sun and the moon
for go,rather than its harmonicdevelopment, g• vertical componentof tidal acceleration
and to obviate the use of tables in the computa- due to the moon
tion. The formulasof Schuremanwere cast into g, vertical componentof tidal acceleration
a form convenientfor the purpose,and the due to the sun
h meanlongitudeof the sun
xInstitute of GeophysicsPublicationNo. 147.
This researchwas supportedby the Office of h0 horizontalcomponentof tidal acceleration
Naval Research under Contract Nonr 233(19). due to the sun and the moon
2351
2352 I. M. LONGMAN

hmhorizontal componentof tidal acceleration ! referredequinox

due to the moon zenith angle of sun
h• horizontal componentof tidal acceleration right ascensionof meridian of place of
due to the sun observations reckoned from A
H height of point of observationabove sea right ascensionof meridian of place of
level observations reckoned from the vernal
i inchnation of the moon's orbit to the equinox
ecliptic inclination of the earth's equator to the
I inclination of the moon's orbit to the ecliptic= 23.452ø [Schureman 1941,p. 162]
equator toOOh'S ascendingnode
1 longitudeof moon in its orbit reckoned
from its ascendingintersection with the Referringto Schureman[1941,p. 13], we see
that, if the fifth power of the toOOh'Sparallax
equator
(which could only contribute less than 0.05
l• longitudeof sun in the echptic reckoned
from the vernal equinox
per cent of the total tide-producingforce) is
L terrestrial longitudeof general point P on ignored, the vertical component (upwards) of
earth's surface the lunar tidal force per unit massat a point P
on the earth's surface is
m ratio of mean motion of the sun to that
of the moon (0.074804 [Schureman,1941, gMr
p. 162) g,•- ds (3cos
• 0-- 1)
M mass of moon
N longitude of the moon's ascendingnode
in its orbit reckoned from the referred
_]_
3gMr
d• • (5cos
• 0-- 3 cos
0) (1)
equinox(N = f•T• in :Fig.1)
To the same order of accuracy the horizontal
p mean longitudeof lunar perigee
componentis
p• mean longitudeof solarperigee
P generalpoint on the earth'ssurface 3 !aMr
r disgance from P to the center of the earth h,•- 2 ds sin20
s meanlongitudeofmoonin its orbitreckoned
from the referredequinox 3 gMr•
S mass of sun %'2 d• (5cos
• 0-- 1)sin0 (2)
t hour angle of mean sun measuredwest-
ward from the place of observations The expressionsfor the componentsof tidal
to Greenwich civil time measured in hours acceleration due to the sun are similar, the
T number of Julian centuries (36,525 days) terms depending on the fourth power of the
from Greenwich mean noon on December sun'sparallaxbeingnegligible.Thus
31, 1899 gSr •
a definedin equations(15) and (16) g•- •(3 cos•,-- 1) (3)
• zenith angleof moon
)• terrestrial latitude of general point on 3 gSr .
earth's surface h, -- 2 Ds sm2O• (4)
/z Newton'sgravitationalconstant
y longitudein the celestialequator of its go- gm-•- g, (5)
intersection .4 with the toOOh'S orbit and
(sideAT in Fig. 1) = +
• longitudein the moon'sorbit of its as-
cending intersectionwith the celestial In order to expressgo,hoas functionsof the
equator time for any given point P (`givenlatitude )•
a mean longitudeof moonin radiansin its and longitudeL), it is necessaryto obtain
orbit reckoned from .4 O,•o,d, and D as functionsof time, and r as a
T vernal equinox function of latitude (,and altitude). Schureman
 TIDAL ACCELERATIONS DUE TO THE MOON AND TIlE SUN 2353

FIG. 1--Orbital parameters.

[1924, p. 30, equation 81] derivesthe relation*
cos 8 = sin •, sin I sin l
+ cosX [cos"«I cos(l - x)
q- sin"«I cos(l q- x)]
A similar relation holds for the sun's zenith
anglep:
cos½ = sin h sin •osin l•
+ cos• [cos"«• cos(l• - x•)
+ si•" «• cos(• + xd]
Schureman
[1941,p. 19] gavefor the longitude
of the moon in its orbit
5 ,.
l = aq-2esin(s--p)q-•e sin2(s--p)
15
q--•- mesin(s-- 2hq-p)
p = 334ø 1.9' 40.87 '•
q- (11 rev. q- 392,515.94")T
-- 37.24"Ta-- 0.045"Ts (11)
h = 279 ø 41 • 48.04 '•
(7)
+ 129,602,768.13"T+ 1.089"Ta (12)
These expressions may be comparedwith those
given by Bartels[1957,p. 747]. Barrels' formulas
are equivalentto
s = 270 ø 26' 11.72"
(s)
q- (1336 rev. q- 1,108,406.05")T
q- 7.128"T• q- 0.0072"Ts (10')
p = 334ø 19' 46.42"
q- (11 rev. q- 392,522.51")T
-- 37.15"T"-- 0.036"Ts
,

11m2sin2(s-- h)
q-•- (9)
h = 279 ø 41' 48.05"

q- 129,602,768.11"T
q- 1.080"T" (12')
and (p. 162) the followingexpressions
for s, p, h:
a is given by the relation
s = 270 ø 26' 14.72 '•
a = s -- • (13)
q- (1336 rev. q- 1,108,411.20")T
With referenceto Figure 1, a little elementary
q- 9.09"T"q- 0.006S"Ts (10) sphericaltrigonometryshows• to be given by
* This relation is not given in •qchureman[1941], • = N -- sin-• (sino•sinN/sin I) (14)
where the development of the tidal forces has
been rearranged. In order to render the inverse sine in this formula
 2354 I.M. LONGMAN

unique, we aIso apply a cosineformula to the The angleX in (7) is givenby

spherical triangle •2AT. Denoting the side
f•A by a, we then have •.

cosa •- cosN cosv-i-sinNsinv cosco(15) For a pointP on the earth'ssurface

with longi-
tude L, the value of t is
wherey is the sideAT (Fig. 1) andis the longitude
in the celestial equator .of its intersectionA t = 15(to-- 12) -- L (24)
with the moon'sorbit; y is given by equation expressedin degrees.
(21) below,while sin a is given, as above,by Equations[9) to (24) enableus to determine
sin a -- sin cosin N/sin I (16) the moon'szenith anglefrom equation(7).
Turning now to equation (8) for the sun's
From the valuesof sina and cosa we compute zenith angle, we see that the sun'slongitude
tan (a/2) from the formula l• is given by

tan(a/2) ----sina/(1 -[- cosa) (17/ l• - h -[- 2e•sin (h -- p•) (25)

Now sincea liesin the interval (0, 2•r),a/2 lies Accordingto Schureman
[1941, p. 162] p• is
in (0, •r) and hencewhen a is computedas given by
a = 2 tan-• [sina/(1 -[- cosa)] (18) p• - 281ø 13' 15.0" -[- 6,189.03"T
its valueis uniquelydetermined. + 1.63"T• + O.012"T a (26)
The longitudeN of the moon'snodeis given
by Schureman [1941,p. 162] and e• is given*by Schureman
[1924,p. 172]as
N = 259 ø 10' 57.12 tt e• = 0.01675104- 0.00004180T

-- (5 rev. -]- 482,912.63")T -- 0.000000126T

2 (27)
+ 7.58"T2 -{- O.008"Ta (19) Barrels[1957, p. 747] gave an almostidentical
expressionfor p•'
Barrels[1957, p. 747] gives a formula which is
equivalent to pl -- 281 ø 13' 14.99" -[- 6188.47"T

N -- 259 ø 10' 59.81 • •- 1.62"T• •- 0.0Ii"T a (26')

-- (5 rev. -]- 482,911.24")T
-]- 7.48"T2 -]- 0.007"T3
The inclination I of the toOOh'S orbit to the
equator is given by
cosI = coscocosi-- sinwsini cosN (20)
The quantity X• is given by
= t+
(19')
Equations (25) to (28) suffice to determine
the sun'szenithanglefromequation(8).
Referringto equations(1) to (4) we seethat
if we usethe knownvaluesof t•, M, S, that is
[Pettit, 1954],

I is always positive and varies between about t• -- 6.670 X 10-8 cgsunits

18ø and 28ø. Also• is givenin termsof I, N by M- 7.3537X 10•5grams
the relation S = 1.993X 10aagrams
the tidal forcesare determinedif we know d,
v = sin-• [sini sinN/sin I] (21) the distance between the centers of the earth
and here the inversesine is unique,sincewe and moon, and D, the distance between the
alwayshave--15ø < v < 15ø.Schureman [1941, centersof the earth and sun. Both quantities
p. 162]gives
* $chureman[1941,p. 162] merely givesex --
i = 5.145ø (22) 0.01675,epoch Jan. 1, 1900.
 TIDAL ACCELERATIONS DUE TO TI:IE MOON AND T/SE SUN 2355

are variable, being given by the relations by computing a number of cases (using an
[Schureman, 1924,pp. 55 and 172] IBM 709 computer)and comparingthe results
with computationsbasedon Pertit's[1954]paper,
1/d - 1/c nu a'e cos(s - p) and also with computations(unpublished)by
nu a'e2 cos2(s - p) Pettit on S.W.A.C. (an electronic computer
at the University of California). In every case
nu (15/8)a'me cos(s - 2h nu p) agreement to within a fraction of a microgal
was obtained. To this order of accuracy it is
nu a'm2 cos2(s- h) (29) immaterialwhetherequations[10'), (11'),
lID = 1Ic• + ax'excos(h- p,) (30) (19'), [26') or the unprimed equivalents are
used.Furthermore,in the actual program,values
Here c = mean distance between the centers
of a and C based on the Hayford spheroid
of the earth and the moon = 3.84402 X 101øcm. model of the earth [Hay•ord, 1910] were used,
This figure is derived from Schureman's[1941, and here again adoption of the later values
p. 162] value c = 238,857miles.Also given in this paper has no effect on the order of
accuracystated above.
a' = 1/[c(1 -- e2)] (31)
[REFERENCES
a/ is given by the formula analogousto (31):
BARTELS,J., GezeitenkrS•fte,Handbuch der Phy-
a•' = 1/[c•(1 - e•2)]* (32) sik, Vol. XLVIII, Geophysik II, Springer-Ver-
lag, Berlin, 1957.
Equations(29) to (32) nowenableus•o determine DooDso•, A. T., The harmonic development of
the tidal forcesat any given point at distancer, the tide-generating potential, Proc. Roy. Soc.
say, from the center of the earth. For points on London, A, 100,305, 1921.
the earth's surface it is convenient to make DooDso•, A. T., A•n /5. D. WARSCR0, Admiralty
Manual o• Tides, /ser Majesty's Stationery
use of the known shape of the earth and to Office, London, 1941.
expressr in terms of the height above sea level HAYFOR•, J. F., Supplementary Investigation in
and the latitude. Assumingthe earth to be an 1909 o• the Figure o• the Earth and Isostasy,
ellipsoid with parametersas adopted by Lecar Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1910.
and others[1959], we have LECAR,M., J. Soft,soN, AND A. EC•ELS, A deter-
mination of the coe•cient J of the second har-
monic in the earth's gravitational potential from
r = Ca + H (33)
the orbit of Satellite 1958 l?•, J. Geophys. Re-
where C is given by search,6•, 209-216, 1959.
PsTTIT, J. T., Tables for the computation of the
C•= 1/'(1 + 0.006738sin"k) (34) tidal accelerationsof the sun and moon, Trans.
Am. Geophys.Union, 35, 193, 1954.
Equations (1) to (34) determine the tidal SCHUREiVfAN,t)., A manual of the harmonic analy-
accelerationat any point on the earth's surface. sis and prediction of tides, U. $. Coast and Geo-
detic Survey, Spec. Publ. 98, 1924.
The (unprimed) equationshave been checked
SC•CRE•AN, P., A manual of the harmonic analy-
sis and prediction of tides, U.•. Coast and Geo-
* Equations (29) and (30) are also given by detic Survey Spec.Publ. 98, Revised Ed., 1941.
Schureman [1941, pp. 20 and 39] but with a' --
1/c, a'x -- 1/c•. Essentially,this meansthat e•, ex• (Manuscript received June 13, 1959; revised
have been neglected in comparisonwith unity. October 1, 1959.)