Tides - In Oceans, Rivers, Everywhere!
Hello everyone. Welcome back to another article! Have you wondered that what are tides? So in this article, we are going to learn about tides, which are present almost in every water body, oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds, everywhere!
Tides are the rise and fall of water in seas and oceans due to the combined gravitational forces of the sun and the moon, and the rotation of the earth. Since the sun is far away the gravitational pull of the Moon is stronger. The earth experiences 2 high and 2 low tides every 24 hours and 50 minutes. Based on the position of the sun and moon, two types of tides occur twice (each) a month.
Neap Tides
Neap tide occurs when the Sun, Moon, and the Earth make a right angle, with Earth the vertex. During the tide, the height of the tide is a little lower than average. That's because both the gravity of the moon and sun cancel each other. These are also known as Lunar Tides.
Spring Tides:
Spring tides on the other hand are the highest tides. They occur when the earth, sun, and moon are in a straight line. The gravitational pull of both sun and moon combine and pull the water. These are also known as solar tides. They occur on both new and full moon days.
When the earth, sun, and moon are in a straight line it is known as Syzygy. This can be of two types-
1. Conjunction- When both sun and moon are on one side of the earth.
2. Opposition- When the sun is on one side of earth while the moon is on the other.
There are 3 types of tides based on their frequency in a day.
Semi-Diurnal Tides
An area has 2 high tides and 2 low tides in general and when these tides almost are the same height the pattern is called semi-daily or semi-diurnal tides. The interval between the high and low tide is around 12 hours and 15 minutes. These areas are mostly spread out in the Indian Ocean.
Diurnal Tides:
This tidal cycle has four tides in a day. Two by the Sun and two by the moon. Springtide is an exceptionally high tide that occurs due to the sun complimenting the moon's gravity. These can be seen on the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula.
Mixed Tides:
2 unequal high tides and low tides lead to the formation of mixed tides. This is a mix of both semi-diurnal and diurnal tides. This tide cycle is observed mainly in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
FUN FACTIt is thought that the gravitational pull is only acted upon the water. That is not true it acts on the ground too, it's just that the pull of the ground is lesser, hence we only see it act upon the water.
1. Conjunction- When both sun and moon are on one side of the earth.
2. Opposition- When the sun is on one side of earth while the moon is on the other.
There are 3 types of tides based on their frequency in a day.
Semi-Diurnal Tides
An area has 2 high tides and 2 low tides in general and when these tides almost are the same height the pattern is called semi-daily or semi-diurnal tides. The interval between the high and low tide is around 12 hours and 15 minutes. These areas are mostly spread out in the Indian Ocean.
Diurnal Tides:
This tidal cycle has four tides in a day. Two by the Sun and two by the moon. Springtide is an exceptionally high tide that occurs due to the sun complimenting the moon's gravity. These can be seen on the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula.
Mixed Tides:
2 unequal high tides and low tides lead to the formation of mixed tides. This is a mix of both semi-diurnal and diurnal tides. This tide cycle is observed mainly in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
FUN FACT
Functions of Tides
There are many functions of tides, some are listed down below...
1. Tides help in catching fish as more fish come close to the shore during high tides.
2. The tides also help remove pollutants from the sea and the oceans. They also circulate the nutrients in the seas and oceans which are needed by the plants to survive.
There are many functions of tides, some are listed down below...
1. Tides help in catching fish as more fish come close to the shore during high tides.
2. The tides also help remove pollutants from the sea and the oceans. They also circulate the nutrients in the seas and oceans which are needed by the plants to survive.
3. Tides make some riverine ports like London on river Thames and Kolkata on River Hooghly navigable. These ports are not located at the shores but are far inland into the mainland, on rivers. During high tides, ocean water gushes into the river, making it possible for the ships to enter or exit these ports.
4. Fishermen also usually sail out during low tides and take advantage of the high tide to sail back in.
5. Saline water may get stored in natural or artificial depressions during high tide. These areas can be used for pisciculture or for making salt.
6. Tides also cause washing away of sediments from the river beds, this makes the river less prone to flooding and also keeps the harbor and port clean from sediments.
7. Tides are also used to produce tidal energy that can be used to light homes and power machinery. Countries like Uk, Canada, France, Japan who have long shores have set up tidal power stations and have been successfully generating tons and tons of energy.
From all of the above points, we observe that Tides help us in many things such as pisciculture and generating energy.
That's all for today, hope you had a great learning today, and do not forget to come back to Kidscast! for more new and interesting topics. Bye and have a great day! Happy learning!
4. Fishermen also usually sail out during low tides and take advantage of the high tide to sail back in.
5. Saline water may get stored in natural or artificial depressions during high tide. These areas can be used for pisciculture or for making salt.
6. Tides also cause washing away of sediments from the river beds, this makes the river less prone to flooding and also keeps the harbor and port clean from sediments.
7. Tides are also used to produce tidal energy that can be used to light homes and power machinery. Countries like Uk, Canada, France, Japan who have long shores have set up tidal power stations and have been successfully generating tons and tons of energy.
From all of the above points, we observe that Tides help us in many things such as pisciculture and generating energy.
That's all for today, hope you had a great learning today, and do not forget to come back to Kidscast! for more new and interesting topics. Bye and have a great day! Happy learning!
.png)
.png)