TIDES

Vertical Oscillation of Sea Surface is known as tide. At most places it occurs twice daily. The tide rises until it reaches a maximum height called the High Water and then falls to a minimum level called the low water. The interval between the High Water & Low Water times is called Duration of Tide. The difference in their respective heights is called the Range of Tide. The period at High water & low water during which there is no sensible change of level is called Stand or Slack Water. Equilibrium Theory of tides : Newton proposed the first explanation for semidiurnal tides with his equilibrium model according to which: Earth & Moon exist in isolation Earth is a non rotating sphere A single ocean encircles the globe Ocean is static i.e. has no currents The only forces acting on ocean result from the movement of Earth & Moon about their common center of mass. Shortcomings of the Equilibrium Model :

It predicts semidiurnal tides at all locations not observed It predicts that high tides should occur when moon passes overhead or 12 hours 25 minutes later rarely observed Calculations suggest that tidal ranges should be 20-50 cmobserved tidal ranges are often much larger. It predicts values for daily inequities that are rarely observed.

Dynamical Theory of Tides : Begins where equilibrium model ends, i.e. with two bulges created by gravitational interactions of Earth & Moon.

 Explains real tides by envisioning tidal bulges as tidal wave Tidal wave has small wave height-about 50 cm in open ocean Tidal Wave has a very long wavelength(L) about one half of earths circumference = 20,000 kms. Water Depth of oceans = 4 km <<<<< L/2 Tidal Wave is a shallow water Wave everywhere, i.e. in interacts continually with the ocean bottom As a shallow water wave, tidal wave feels the bottom, slows, steepens and sometimes breaks Tidal Wave reflects, refracts & interferes with other waves or with reflections of itself Depending upon the shape of a basin, the net result may be a standing wave that corresponds to a diurnal tide, a semidiurnal tide, or a mixed tide.

Semi Diurnal Tides : Sea level rises & falls twice a day(24 hours). The duration of tide is about 6 hours. Period of Tide (From one High to another High or from one low to another low) is 12 hours. These tides occur in most parts of the world, specially at European & North American Ports. Diurnal Tides : One single High or Low Water occurs each tidal day. These tides occur along the northern shores of Gulf of Mexico & in the Java Sea. Mix Tides : The diurnal & semi-diurnal oscillations are both important factors & the tide is characterized by a large inequality in the high water heights, low water heights, or in both. There are usually two high & two low waters each day, but occasionally tide may become diurnal. Such tides are prevalent along the coast of USA.

The tides are caused due to the forces which act between the Earth, Sun, Moon & the water mass of the Earth. It is also affected by the motion of the Moon & Sun relative to Earth. The Earth Motion on its own axis is also to be considered. 2 As per Newtons law of gravitation F = M1 x M2 / d Where F is the Force between Earth & Moon, d is the distance between their centres & M1 & M2 are their masses. Similarly there is also a gravitational pull between Earth & Sun.

High tides take place on the part of the Earth facing the Moon (Sublunar Point). The Moons gravity pulls the water slightly away from the earth. Thus there is piling or heaping of water just below the moon. It is also High tide on the opposite side of the world(Anti Podal Point). There the tug of the Moons gravity is weaker & it is the centrifugal force of the earths spin which pushes the water outward. As the Earth turns, the part of the sea that was high moves away from Moons gravity. The water sinks back down. After about six hours, this part of the sea is all the way down to what is called Low Tide.

 Each Part of the Sea has two high tides each day- one when it is beneath the moon & one when the Moon is on the opposite side of the earth. Similarly there are two low tides. Lunar Retardation The moon revolves in its orbit around the earth with an angular velocity of approximately 12.2o per day, in the same direction in which the earth is rotating on its axis with an angular velocity of 360o per day. In each day, therefore, a point on the rotating earth must complete a rotation of 360o plus 12.2o, or 372.2o, in order to "catch up" with the moon. Since 15o is equal to one hour of time, this extra amount of rotation equal to 12.2o each day would require a period of time equal to 12.2o/15o x 60 min/hr., or 48.8 minutes - if the moon revolved in a circular orbit, and its speed of revolution did not vary. On the average it requires about 50 minutes longer each day for a sublunar point on the rotating earth to regain this position directly along the major axis of the moon's tidal force envelope, where the tide-raising influence is a maximum. In consequence, the recurrence of a tide of the same phase and similar rise would take place at an interval of 24 hours 50 minutes after the preceding occurrence, if this single astronomical factor known as lunar retardation were considered. This period of 24 hours 50 minutes has been established as the tidal day. Solar Tides : The natural period of oscillation of a body of water may primarily follow Solar Oscillations in some parts of the world like South Pacific & Indonesian Waters. At these places the High & Low Water occur at about the same time each day. Spring & Neap Tides : When Earth, Moon & Sun are in the same line as in conjunction or in opposition, then their (Tide Raising) Tractive Forces act on the water mass of the earth on the same axis(acting in tandem). We then have Spring tides. Seven days after Conjunction & Opposition, the Moon is in First Quadrature & Third Quadrature respectively. The

Tractive forces of Sun & Moon are now acting along different axes & we now have Neap Tides.

Priming & Lagging of Tide : In the first & Third quadrant, the tide is said to be priming. The high water time is before the meridian passage of the Moon. In the Second & Fourth quadrant the tide is said to be lagging and the time of high water is after the meridian passage of the moon.

Equinoctial & Solstial Tides (Declination Effects): When the declinations of the Moon & Sun are the same, tide raising Forces(Tractive Forces) of each will be supporting or acting in line or with each other. At the Equinoxes in March & September there are instances when the declinations of both the Moon & Sun are zero, at such times the Semi Diurnal Luni-Solar Tide raising force will be at its maximum. It causes the Equinoctial Tide. At these times semi diurnal spring tides higher than normal are expected. At the Solstices in June & December, when the Declinations of Moon & Sun are both at Maximum, the Diurnal Luni Solar tide raising force will be at its maximum, thus causing the Solstial Tides . At these times the Diurnal Tides are at a maximum.

Moons declination attains max value North or South of equator every 15 days or so, whereas Suns Declination changes more slowly and attains max only twice a year in June & December, at the Solstices.

Effect of Changes in distances of Sun & Moon

As the orbits of the earth round the sun, and of the moon round the earth, especially the latter, are slightly elliptical, small changes in distances occur. The variation in the Moons distance can cause a difference in range of Lunar tide raising force from 15 to 20%. The variation in the Suns distance can cause a difference of only about 3 percent in the Solar tide raising force. Thus there is a tendency for the tides to be larger at Perigee than at Apogee and a similar, but lesser tendency for the tides to be larger at Perihilion than at Aphelion.

The Tides as they Exist In order for an appreciable tide to be generated in a body of water, the dimensions of that body must be large enough. The largest tides are therefore generated in the largest oceans such as the Pacific, Atlantic & the Indian Ocean.

The Pacific Ocean is on the whole responsive to the Diurnal forces & relatively unresponsive to the semi diurnal forces. The Atlantic ocean on the other hand is responsive to the semi diurnal forces and relatively inert to the diurnal forces. The Effect of Shallow Water The tide raising forces set up oscillations of small amplitude in the deep oceans and these oscillations travel as waves towards the coast, into estuaries & up rivers. As the water becomes shallower the amplitude of the wave increases & further amplification occurs when the tidal wave travels up an estuary which, typically, gradually narrows from a wide entrance. The effect of a tidal wave entering shallow waters is, besides increasing the amplitude of the wave, to distort it in the same way that an ordinary wave on the beach may be observed to become progressively distorted as it approaches the shore; it tends to aquire a steep front, that is to say that the period of rise becomes shorter than the period of fall. These shallow water effects are present to a greater or lesser degree in the tides of all coastal waters and they make the prediction of such tides more complex than for simple oceanic tides. Harmonic Constituents of the Tide Laplace was first to point out that tidal oscillations are composed of harmonic motions originated by various periodic forces. The tide raising forces can be considered as the sum of an infinite number of constituent cosine curves. Some 400 constituents have been calculated but in practice it is not practical to use so many. As discussed the response of water is modified by topographical conditions which can retard or advance the time at which the tidal wave arrives and can increase or decrease the amplitude of the wave.

The four principal constituents which will be encountered by the navigator are as follows: (Suffix 1 indicates Diurnal & 2 indicates Semi Diurnal component) M2 Principal Lunar constituent,moving twice the speed of mean Moon S2 Principal Solar constituent, moving twice the speed of mean sun. K1 Luni-Solar component allowing for part of the effects of the Suns and Moons declination O1 allowing for remaining part of Moons declination Principles of Harmonic Tidal analysis and Prediction For standard port predictions in tide tables the general rule is for at least one complete years observations to be analysed. For secondary port predictions, analysis of at least one months observation is the aim. Each tidal constituent has a speed , amplitude & phase. The speed is given in degrees per hour. As one complete cycle is 360 degrees and the S2 constituent has two complete cycles per day, the speed of the S2 constituent is 720 degrees per day or 30 degrees per hour. The speeds of M2, K1 & O1 can similarly be calculated to be 28.98, 15.04 & 13.94 degrees per hour respectively. The amplitude, which is unknown, is equal to half the range, the range being the difference in height between the maximum & minimum of each oscillation.

The phase of a constituent, which is also unknown, is its position in time in relation to its position as indicated by the astronomical theory. Owing to the fact that the tide raising forces do not act instantaneously, each constituent has a time or phase lag. This can be observed in practice from the fact that Spring tides in the British isles do not occur on days of full and new moon, as theory would indicate, but two to three days later. The object of tidal analyses is, therefore, to determine the unknown amplitude(H) and phase lag(g). Tidal prediction by harmonic means is simply the synthesis of the constituents for the particular astronomical conditions prevailing at the time. Bore Tide: Bores occur in relatively few locations worldwide, usually in areas with a large tidal range (typically more than 6 metres (20 ft) between high and low water), and where incoming tides are funneled into a shallow, narrowing river via a broad bay. The funnel-like shape not only increases the tidal range, but it can also decrease the duration of the flood tide, down to a point where the flood appears as a sudden increase in the water level. Note the tidal bore takes place during the flood tide and never during the ebb tide. As a progressive wave enters shallow water its speed is decreased. Since the trough is shallower than the crest its retardation is greater, resulting in a steepening of the wave front. Therefore in many rivers, the duration of rise is considerably less than the duration of fall. In few estuaries, the advance of the low water trough is so much retarded that the crest of the rising tide overtakes the low, and advances upstream as a churning, foaming wall of water called a bore tide. The bore tides can be dangerous as the ship along side berth may suddenly surge and break the mooring lines. The tide tables indicate where bores occur.

Examples : Amazon River in Brazil and Orinoco River in Venezuela, up to 4 metres (13 ft) high, running at up to 20 km/h (13 miles per hour). It is known locally as the pororoca.

Double High & Low Water : As is the case of Southampton, England, there is often a slight fall in the middle of the High Water Period. This is called double High Water. In the case of Hoek Van Holland there is often a slight rise in the middle of the low water period.This is called a Double Low Water. The practical effect is to create a longer period of slack water at high or low tide. The tide tables draw attention to these. Seiches:

They occur in a confined body of water. It is a long wave, usually having its crest at one end of the confined space, and its trough at the other. Abrupt changes in meteorological conditions such as the passage of an intense depression or line squall may increase oscillations in sea level. A seiche (pronounced saysh) is a sudden fluctuation of water levels on a lake or inland sea. The Great Lakes are among the few regions in the world where these potentially deadly events occur. When a strong and rapid change in atmospheric pressure takes place on one side of a lake, usually associated with a line of thunderstorms, it can cause the water level to drop. As a result, the water level rises at the other end of the lake, in a motion that sometimes resembles a tidal wave. This sudden rise in water levels is potentially dangerous to swimmers, boaters, or anyone near the water. Eight people drowned in Chicago's most tragic seiche, on June 26, 1954

Seismic Sea Waves(Tsunamis):

Tsunamis are ocean waves produced by sudden, large scale motion of a portion of the ocean floor or the shore, as by Volcanic eruption, earthquake ( sometimes called seaquake if it occurs at sea) or Landslide. If they are caused by a seaquake, they are called seismic sea waves. The point directly above the disturbance is called the epicenter. These submarine earthquakes set up long waves, which travel across the ocean at very high speeds, often reaching a speed of 400 knots in the Pacific. On entering shallow waters, these waves increase in height and often reach destructive proportions. It is then termed as Tidal Wave or Tsunamis, though it does not bear any relationship with tide.

Storm Surges:Under exceptional circumstances, either severe extratropical storms or tropical cyclones can produce changes in sea level that exceed the normal range of tide. Like Tsunamis these storm surges are also called Tidal Waves. The most dangerous surges occur when a deep depression moving in from the Atlantic, travels slowly across the north of Scotland from west to east. It causes strong NWly or Nly winds. Surges which occur at Neaps seldom cause abnormally high level but relatively small surges occurring at High Water of Springs can be very dangerous. A very severe storm surge occurred on 31st Jan 1953. Predicted high waters exceeded by more than 3 metres on the Netherland coast resulting in disastrous flooding with considerable loss of life & property.

Negative Surges : In a manner somewhat similar to storm surges the level of sea can can also be lower than the predicted level. Again the cause is meteorological. It makes a lot of difference to very large vessels which may be navigating with very small under keel clearance. Negative surges of over 0.6 m occur about 15 times a year in the southern North Sea, 3 or 4 times exceeding 1m. Warning of onset of negative surges in the southern North Sea is given by a warning service to mariners.