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NAU 102
Lesson 25
 Agenda

Tides
•Importance
•Definitions
•Causes
•Tidal Cycles
•Reference Planes
Tides

Why do we care?
We don’t want to:
•Run aground.
•Hit the bridge.
•Snap the mooring lines.
 Tide

The vertical rise and fall of the ocean

level due to the gravitational and
centrifugal forces between the earth
and the moon (and the sun).
 Definitions

High tide (or high water) – highest water level

reached in a rising tide

Low tide (or low water) – lowest water level

reached in a falling tide
Stand – the brief period at high & low water
when no change in water level can be detected.

Range – the difference in height between high

tide and low tide.
 Causes

Centrifugal Forces

Gravitational Forces
 Causes
Centrifugal Force
A force that tends to impel a thing outward
from the center of rotation.
 Causes
Centrifugal Force
The Earth/Moon system revolves around its
center of mass, the barycenter.
Earth
Moon

Barycenter
 Causes
Centrifugal Force
The Earth/Moon system revolves around its
center of mass, the barycenter.
Earth
Moon

Barycenter
 Causes
Gravitational Force
Gravity forces the water to flow towards the
Moon.
Earth
Moon
 Causes
Gravitational Force
Gravity forces the water to flow towards the
Moon.
Earth
Moon
 Causes

Resultant Force
Earth
Moon
 Causes

Resultant Force
Earth
Moon
 Causes

If the Earth was a perfect sphere,

completely covered with water:
Two High Tides & Two Low Tides
Every Lunar Day (24 hours 50 minutes)
Earth
Earth
Earth
 Orbit of the moon

The moon’s orbit is elliptical.

Its distance from Earth varies during the month.

apogee
perigee
Earth

Tides are 15%-20% higher than average at perigee

 Effect of the Sun

The Sun affects the tides as well.

Due to distance, it has only 46% of the Moon’s

effect.
 Spring Tides

When the sun, Earth and moon are in line

High tides are
higher than
normal.

Low tides are

lower than
normal.
 Neap Tides

When the sun, Earth and moon are 90° apart

High tides are

lower than
normal.
Low tides are
higher than
normal.
 Tides

Spring tides and neap tides each

happen twice each month.

Greatest range of tide occurs at

perigean spring tides.
 Local Tides
If the Earth was a perfect sphere
And, it was covered by a uniform amount of
water
There would be 2 high tides and two low tides
each day at every location.

The tide range would be about 12 inches.

 Local Tides

Because land shape and water depth varies

from place to place, the tides vary with
location.

Local differences affect both the period of the

tide and tide range.

In coastal areas, the range of tide can be as

much as 50 feet!
 Local Tides

Bay of
Fundy
Nova
Scotia
 Tidal Cycles

Semidiurnal Tide
2 high and 2 low waters each tidal day, with
relatively small differences in the respective
highs and lows.
Tides on the Atlantic coast of the US.
Semidiurnal Tides
 Tidal Cycles
Diurnal Tide
A single high and single low water occur each
tidal day.

The northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico, in

the Java Sea, the Gulf of Tonkin, and a few
other places.
Diurnal Tides
 Tidal Cycles
Mixed Tide
2 high and 2 low waters each day, with a large
inequality in the high water heights, low water
heights or both.
Pacific coast of the US.
Mixed Tides
 Reference Planes

How do we know how deep the water is?

Look on the chart.
But, charted depth isn’t necessarily the depth
of the water at the moment.

It is an average of the depths taken at specific

times, depending on the Sounding Datum.
 Reference Planes
Mean Sea Level (MSL)
The average level of the ocean at a location.

Data is collected over a 18.6 year period called

the Nodal Period.
Half the time the water is shallower than MSL.
Half the time the water is deeper than MSL.

Dangerous!
 Reference Planes
Mean low water (MLW) - the average of all low
tides at a given place.
Mean lower low water (MLLW) - the average
lower low waters of each tidal day.
(The sounding datum used for U.S. waters)

Mean low water springs (MLWS) - the average

level of the low waters at spring tides.
(Used for some British charts)
 Reference Planes

Mean High Water (MHW) - the average of all

high tides at a given place.
(The vertical datum used for U.S. waters)
Mean higher high water (MHHW) - the average
higher higher waters of each tidal day.

Mean high water springs (MHWS) - the average

level of the High waters at spring tides.
Tides
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Questions?