ENM 215; The Oceans, Operability and Humans in the Ocean Topic 3a Tides

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In this section the causes of the tides and the factors which affect their
magnitude are discussed. The three main types of tidal pattern and the
locations in the world where they occur are described. Tidal phenomena
observable in coastal regions and the generation of power from the tides
are also discussed.




After studying the materials in this section you should be able to:
Describe what causes tides
Differentiate between a lunar and solar day
Understand why the moon has a greater influence on the tides
than the sun
Explain the monthly tidal cycle in terms of Earth-Moon-Sun
positions and the resulting tidal conditions on earth
Know how variations in the orbit of the Earth and the Moon cause
changes to the tidal forces
Recognize diurnal, semidiurnal and mixed tidal patterns
Describe tidal phenomena which can be observed in coastal
regions



Why is a knowledge of tides important? Your answer should consider the
effects on shipping, offshore structures and offshore operations.


1. Explain why the Suns influence on Earths tides is only 46% of
that of the Moon, even though the Sun is much more massive
than the Moon. (3 marks)

2. What is declination? Discuss the degree of declination of the Moon
and Sun relative to Earths equator. What are the effects of
declination of the Moon and sun on the tides? (5 marks)

3. How often are the conditions right to produce the maximum tide-
generating force and what are these conditions? (3 marks)

Preview
Topic 3a: Tides
Learning Outcomes
Student Activities: Critical Thinking Exercise
Student Activities: Sample Exam Questions
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4. What factors cause the tides which actually occur in the oceans to
differ from the idealized case in which the rise and fall of the tides
is caused by the Earths rotation carrying various locations into
and out of the tidal bulges? (10 marks)

5. Describe, with the aid of diagrams, a diurnal tidal pattern. Where
does this pattern occur? (4 marks)





Important Note: The following pages are summary notes taken
directly from the material in your text book Essentials of
Oceanography. They are intended to provide an overview of the
relevant aspects that it is important to understand for the purpose of
this course. For a full and detailed understanding of the topic please
always refer to your text book.
Contents
Introduction ................................................................................... 2
What Causes the Tides? .................................................................. 2
The Earth-Moon system ................................................................ 3
Gravitational forces in the Earth-Moon System ................................ 3
Centripetal Forces in the Earth-Moon System .................................. 4
Resultant Forces .......................................................................... 4
The Effect of the Sun on Tides ....................................................... 6
How Do Tides Vary During a Monthly Tidal Cycle? ............................... 7
Other factors which influence tides................................................. 8
What Do Tides Really Look Like in the Ocean? .................................. 10
What Types of Tidal Patterns Exist? .............................................. 11
Tidal Phenomena in Coastal Regions ............................................... 12
Tidal Power .................................................................................. 13
Introduction
Tides are the periodic raising and lowering of the sea level that occurs
daily throughout the ocean. Tides are very long and regular shallow
water waves with wavelengths of thousands of kilometres and heights
which range to more than 15 m.
What Causes the Tides?

Tides are generated by forces imposed on Earth that are caused by a
combination of gravity and motion among Earth, the Moon and the Sun.
The effect of the moon on the tide is much greater than the effect of the
sun so in the initial explanation of what causes tides, the influence of the
sun will be ignored.

Content
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The Earth-Moon system

Instead of Moon orbiting the Earth, the Moon and Earth actually rotate
around a common centre of mass. This Centre of mass is called the
Barycentre and it is located 1600 km below the Earths surface. The
Barycentre is located there, rather than halfway between the Earth and
the Sun because the mass of the Earth is much greater than that of the
Moon.

Gravitational forces in the Earth-Moon System

Newtons law of universal gravitation states that every object that has
mass in the universe is attracted to every other object. The gravitational
force is directly proportional to the product of the masses of the two
bodies and is inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between the two bodies. If the mass increases, the gravitational force
increases. If the distance increases the gravitational force greatly
decreases. The gravitational force varies with the square of the distance
between the bodies so even a small increase in the distance between
two objects causes a significant decrease in the gravitational force. This
means that the gravitational force at different points on Earth vary,
depending on their distance from the moon. The greatest gravitational
force occurs at the zenith which is the point nearest to the moon. The
nadir is the point farthest from the moon and the gravitational attraction
is weakest here. Figure 9.3 shows the direction and relative magnitude
of the gravitational forces acting at a particle of mass at various points
on the Earths surface.


FIGURE 9.3 Gravitational Forces on Earth Due to the Moon. The
gravitational forces on object located at different places on Earth due
to the Moon are shown by arrow. The length and orientation of the
arrows indicate the strength and direction of the gravitational force.
Notice the length and angular differences of the arrows for different
points on Earth. The letter Z represents the zenith; N represents the
nadir. Distance between the Earth and Moon not shown to scale.


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Centripetal Forces in the Earth-Moon System

Newtons first law of motion states that a body will remain at rest or
moving at a constant velocity unless it is acted on by an external
unbalanced force. This means that a force needs to act on a body in
order to make it move in a circular path. This force is called the
centripetal force and it acts inwards towards the centre of the circle. The
centripetal force which holds the moon in its orbit around the Earth is
caused by gravity. Figure 9.4 shows the direction and relative magnitude
of the centripetal forces which act on a particle of mass at various points
on the Earths surface as a result of the Earth-Moon system rotating
about its barycentre.


FIGURE 9.4 Required centripetal (centre-seeking) forces.
Centripetal forces required to keep identical-sized particles in
identical-sized orbits as a result of the rotation of the Earth-Moon
system about its barycentre. Notice that the arrows are all the same
length and are oriented in the same direction for all points on Earth.
Z= zenith; N= nadir.


Resultant Forces

The gravitational attraction between the a particle of mass on the
Earths surface and the moon supplies the centripetal force required to
keep the Earth-Moon system rotating about its barycentre, but the force
supplied is not equal to the force required. At every point except at the
centre of the Earth there is a difference between the supplied force and
the required force. This force is called the resultant force. The resultant
forces are tiny, averaging about one millionth the magnitude of the
Earths gravity. Figure 9.5 shows the direction and relative magnitude of
the resultant forces at different points on the Earths surface.
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FIGURE 9.5 Resultant forces. Red arrows indicate centripetal
forces (C), which are not equal to the black arrows that indicate
gravitational attraction (G). The small blue arrows show resultant
forces, which are established by constructing n arrow from the tip of
the centripetal (red) arrow to the tip of the gravity (black) arrow and
are located where the red and black arrows begin. Z= zenith; N=
nadir. Distance between Earth and Moon not shown to Scale.


If the resultant force is perpendicular to the Earths surface it does not
have a tide generating effect. The resultant force is perpendicular to the
Earths surface at the zenith and nadir and along an equator half way
between the zenith and nadir. The components of the resultant forces
which act tangential to the Earths surface are known as tide generating
forces. Tide generating forces are maximum at a latitude of 45
o

relative to the equator between the zenith and Nadir. The tide
generating forces push the water in the oceans into two bulges: one on
the side of the Earth directed towards the moon and the other on the
side directed away from the moon. On the side facing the moon the
bulge is created because the provided gravitational force is greater than
the required centripetal force. On the side of the Earth facing away from
the moon the bulge is created because the required centripetal force is
greater than the supplied gravitational force. The resultant forces on the
two sides of the Earth are orientated in opposite directions but are equal
in magnitude, so the bulges are equal in size. Figure 9.7 shows the tidal
bulges for an idealised case in which the ocean has a uniform depth and
there is no friction between the sea water and the sea floor.







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FIGURE 9.7 Idealized tidal bulges. In an idealized case, the Moon
creates two bulges in the ocean surface: one that extends toward the
Moon and the other away from the Moon. As the Earth rotates, it
carries various locations into and out of the two tidal bulges so that
all points on its surface (except the poles) experience two high tides
daily.

The tidal period is the time between high tides. In most places on Earth
the tidal period is 12 hours and 25 minutes. This is because tides
depend on the lunar day and not the solar day. The lunar day is
measured from the time that the moon is on the meridian of an observer
(directly overhead) to the next time the Moon is on that meridian. A
lunar day is exactly 24 hours, 50 minutes and 28 seconds long. A solar
day is measured from the time the Sun is on the Meridian of an observer
to the next time the Sun in on that Meridian and is 24 hours long.

The Effect of the Sun on Tides

Like the moon, the sun also produces tidal bulges: one oriented towards
the sun and one on the opposite side of the Earth. Solar bulges are
much smaller than lunar bulges because, although the sun is 27 million
times more massive than moon, it is 390 times further from the Earth
than the Moon. The solar bulges are only 46% of the size of the lunar
bulges.

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How Do Tides Vary During a Monthly Tidal Cycle?

The Moon takes 29 days to complete an orbit around the Earth. This is
the length of the monthly tidal cycle. At new moon and full moon the
Moon is aligned with the Sun. In these positions the tide generating
forces of the moon and sun combine and the tidal range (the vertical
difference between high tide and low tide) is large. The maximum tidal
range is called a spring tide. When the Earth-Moon-Sun system is
aligned, the Moon is said to be in syzygy. At first-quarter moon and
third-quarter moon the Moon is at right angles to the Sun relative to the
Earth. In these positions the tide generating force of the Sun is working
at right angles to the tide generating force of the Moon so there is
destructive interference between the lunar and solar tidal bulges so the
tidal range is small. This is called a neap tide and the Moon is said to be
in quadrature. This is shown in Figure 9.10.


FIGURE 9.10 Earth-Moon-Sun positions and the tides. Top:
When the Moon is in the new or full position, the tidal bulge created
by the Sun and Moon are aligned, there is a large tidal range on
Earth, and spring tides are experienced. Bottom: When the Moon is in
the first- or third-quarter position, the tidal bulges produced by the
moon are at right angles to the bulges created by the Sun. Tidal
ranges are smaller and neap tides are experienced. Note that there is
only one moon in orbit around Earth.

The time between successive spring tides or successive neap tides is one
half of the monthly lunar cycle (about 2 weeks). The time between a
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spring tide and the next neap tide is a quarter of the monthly lunar cycle
(about a week).

Other factors which influence tides

There are a number of other factors which influence the tides. Two of
the most significant are the declination of the Moon and Sun and the
elliptical shape of the orbits of the Earth and Moon.

The moon and sun are typically not directly overhead at the equator.
The angular distance of the Sun or Moon above or below the equatorial
plane is called declination. The declination of the sun and moon mean
that the tidal bulges are rarely aligned with the equator and instead
mostly occur north or south of the equator. This is shown by Figure
9.12.


Figure 9.12 Maximum declination of tidal bulges from the
equator. The centre of the tidal bulges may lie at any latitude from
the equator to a maximum of 28.5 degrees on either side of the
equator depending on the season of the year (solar angle) and the
Moons position.

The declination of the moon determines the position of the tidal bulges.
This means that, for idealised tides, at some locations the height of
successive high tides will differ. This is shown by Figure 9.14.

The Earth revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit so the distance
between the Earth and the Sun varies over the course of a year. Tidal
ranges are largest when the Earth is near its closest point (perihelion).
Tidal range are smallest when the Earth is near its most distant point
(aphelion). The moon also revolves around the Earth in an elliptical
orbit. Tidal ranges are largest when the moon is closest to the Earth
(perigee) and smallest when the moon is furthest from the Earth
(apogee). It takes 27.5 days for the the Moon to cycle between perigee,
apogee and back to perigee. Spring tides coincide with perigee every
one and a half years. This is called proxigean and during this time the
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tidal range is especially large. These effects of elliptical orbit are shown
in Figure 9.13.


FIGURE 9.14 Predicted Idealized tides. (a)-(d) Sequence
showing the tide experienced every 6 lunar hours. at 28 degrees
north latitude when the declination of the moon is 28 degrees north.
(e) Tide curves for 28 degrees north, 0 degrees and 28 degrees south
latitudes during the lunar day shown in the sequence above. The tidal
curves for 28 degrees north and 28 degrees south latitude show that
the higher high tides occur 12 hours later.



FIGURE 9.13 Effects of elliptical orbits. Top: The Moon moves
from its most distant point (apogee) to its closest point to Earth
(perigee), which causes greater tidal ranges every 27 days.
Bottom: The Earth also moves from its most distant point (aphelion)
to its closest point (perihelion), which causes greater tidal ranges
every year in January. Diagram is not to scale (the elliptical orbits are
highly exaggerated).
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What Do Tides Really Look Like in the Ocean?

Tides are shallow water waves so their speed is proportional to the water
depth. Based on the average ocean depth, the average speed with which
tide waves can travel is slower than the speed the idealised tidal bulges
move across the earth. Thus the idealised bulges cannot exist. Instead
ocean tides break up into distinct large circulation units called cells.

Near the centre of each cell is an amphidromic point and, in the open
ocean, the crests and troughs of the tide wave rotate around this point.
At the amphidromic point there is effectively no tidal range. Radiating
from the amphidromic points are cotidal lines which connect all nearby
locations at which the high tide occurs simultaneously. Figure 9.15
shows the positions of the amphidromic point and cotidal lines. The tide
wave rotates anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in
the southern hemisphere. The size of the cells is limited a the wave
must complete one rotation during the tidal period.


FIGURE 9.15 Cotidal map of the world. Cotidal lines indicate
times of the main lunar daily high tide in lunar hours after the Moon
has crossed the Greenwich Meridian (0 degrees longitude). Tidal
ranges generally increase with increasing distance along cotidal lines
away from the amphidromic points (centre of cell). Where cotidal
lines terminate at both ends in ampidromic points, maximum tidal
range will be near the mid-points of the lines.


The continents also affect the tides because they interrupt the free
movement of the tidal bulges across the ocean surface. Two of the most
important factors that affect tidal conditions along a coast are the
offshore water depth and the coastline shape. In the deep ocean the
tidal range is only about 45cm. As they move into shallow water the tide
waves undergo changes which tend to increase the tidal range.

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What Types of Tidal Patterns Exist?

The depths, sizes and shapes of the ocean basins modify tides so that
they exhibit three different patterns. These patterns and the places
where they occur are shown in Figure 9.16.


FIGURE 9.16 Tidal patterns. Map showing worldwide tidal patterns.
A dirunal tidal pattern (top graph) shows one high and low tide each
lunar day. A semidirunal pattern (middle graph) shows two highs and
lows of approximatley equal heights during each lunar day. A mixed
tidal pattern (bottom graph) shows two highs and lows of unequal
heights during each lunar day.

A diurnal tidal pattern has one low and one high tide each lunar day.
Diurnal tidal patterns are common in shallow inland seas such as the
Gulf of Mexico and along the coast of South East Asia. Diurnal tides have
a tidal period of 24 hours 50 minutes.

A semidiurnal pattern has two high and low tides a lunar day and so has
a tidal period of 12 hours 25 minutes. The heights of the successive high
tides and successive low tides are approximately the same. Semi diurnal
tides are common along the Atlantic Coast of the United States.

A mixed tidal pattern may have characteristics of both diurnal and
semidiurnal tides. Successive high tides and/or low tides have
significantly different heights. Typically mixed tides have a period of 12
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hours 25 minutes but they may also exhibit diurnal periods. Mixed tidal
patterns are the most common type of tidal pattern and are found in
many places including the pacific coast of North America.

Monthly tidal curves for a number of locations are shown in Figure 9.17.



FIGURE 9.17 Monthly tidal curves. Top: Boston, Massachusetts,
showing a semidiurnal tidal pattern. Upper middle: San Francisco,
California, showing a mixed tidal pattern. Lower middle: Galveston,
Texas, showing a mixed tidal pattern with strong diurnal tendencies.
Bottom: Pakhoi, China, showing a diurnal tidal pattern.
Tidal Phenomena in Coastal Regions

A tidal bore is a wall of water that moves up certain low-lying rivers due
to an incoming tide. The conditions necessary for a tidal bore to develop
include:
a large spring tide range of at least 6m
a tidal cycle that has a very abrupt rise of the flood tide phase and
an elongated ebb tide phase
a low lying river with a persistent seaward current during the time
when an incoming high tide begins
a progressive shallowing of the sea floor as the basin progresses
inland
a progressive narrowing of the basin toward its upper reaches
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Only about 60 places on Earth experience tidal bores. These include the
Amazon River, the Qinatng River in China, the Peticodiac River in
Canada, the River Seine in France and the Trent ad Severn Rivers in the
UK.

The tides produce reversing currents which move into and out of
restricted passages along a coast. A flood current is produced when
water rushes into a bay or river with an incoming high tide. An Ebb
current occurs when water drains out of a bay or river because a low
tide is approaching. At the peak of each high or low tide no currents
occur for several minutes. This time is called slack water. In some areas
these currents can be very fast, reaching speed of 40km/hour.

Whirlpools are rapidly spinning bodies of water. These can be created by
the reversing currents in restricted coastal passages. They most
commonly occur in shallow passages connecting large bodies of water
with different tidal cycles. The difference in surface elevation between
the ends of the passage causes water to move vigorously along the
passage. The shape of the shallow sea floor affects the flow and causes
turbulence and this, along with the spin caused by the opposing tidal
currents, creates whirlpools. The size of the whirlpool increases as the
tidal difference between the two bodies of water increases and as the
size of the passage decreases. Examples of whirlpools include the
Maelstrom in Norway, The Corryvreckan in Scotland and the whirlpool in
the strait of Messina, Italy.
Tidal Power

Concerns about climate change and security of energy supply have led
to a growing interest in the generation of energy from renewable
sources. Of the renewable energy sources, tidal power is unique since
the movement of the tides is predictable decades in advance. This is a
major advantage over wind power which can only be predicted a few
hours in advance and wave power which can only be predicted a few
days in advance. The energy can be extracted from the tides in two
ways: by exploiting the potential energy of the water due to the change
in elevation or by exploiting the kinetic energy of the currents generated
by the tides.

A number of tidal barrage schemes which generate power by trapping
water in a bay or estuary at high tide and releasing the water through
turbines have been built worldwide. The scope for building more power
plants of this type is not great because they require sites where the tidal
range is very large. There are also concerns about the environmental
impact of tidal barrage schemes.

Tidal current power schemes are thought to be more environmentally
benign that tidal barrage schemes. The tidal current energy industry is
at an early stage of development. A large number of devices which could
be used to extract energy from tidal currents have been proposed but
only a few have progressed past laboratory scale model tests to an
advanced demonstration stage.

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Whilst tidal power is predictable a long time in advance, it does not
produce power on demand. The amount of power available varies over
the course of the daily and monthly tidal cycles. At some times in the
tidal cycle no energy will be available as there will either not be
sufficient tidal range or sufficient tidal current speeds to drive the
generators. The spring-neap cycle also affects the amount of power that
can be generated at a given time.





The tides are caused by an imbalance between the required centripetal
and the provided gravitational forces acting on Earth. This difference
produces residual forces, the horizontal component of which pushes
ocean water into two equal tidal bulges on opposite sides of Earth. The
tides depend on a lunar day rather than a solar day. A lunar day is 24
hours, 50 minutes and 28 seconds long. The tidal bulges caused by the
moon are about twice the size of the those caused by the sun. In an
idealized cast h tides are caused by Earths rotation carrying various
locations into an out of the tidal bulges. Spring tides occur during the full
and new moon, when the lunar and solar tidal bulges constructively
interfere, producing a large tidal range. Neap tides occur during the
quarter moon phases, when the lunar and solar tidal bulges destructively
interfere, producing a small tidal range. The depths, sizes and shapes of
the ocean basins modify tides so that they exhibit three different
patterns. These are diurnal, semidiurnal and mixed. Tidal phenomena
occurring in coastal regions include tidal bores, whirlpools and tidal
currents. Power can be generated from the tides.


Summary