Tides
Tides
Tides (Periodic vertical movement of water on the Earth’s Surface)
• Tides are very often neglected or taken for granted, “they are just the sea
advancing and retreating once or twice a day.” The Ancient Greeks and
Romans weren’t particularly concerned with the tides at all, since in the
Mediterranean they are almost imperceptible.
o It was this ignorance of tides that led to the loss of Caesar’s war galleys on the
English shores, he failed to pull them up high enough to avoid the returning
tide.
• Scientific explanation for the tidal phenomenon had to wait for Sir Isaac
Newton and his universal theory of gravitation which was published in
1687.
o He described in his “Principia Mathematica” how the tides arose from the
gravitational attraction of the moon and the sun on the earth and why there are
two tides for each lunar transit, the reason why spring and neap tides occurred,
why diurnal tides are largest when the moon was furthest from the plane of the
equator and why the equinoxial tides are larger in general than those at the
solstices.
Tides
Tides
• Free Surface Oscillations driven by gravity fields from (mainly) the moon
and the sun
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Tides
Features
• They generate large friction with the seabed, which has a triple effect:
o i) led a decrease of the Earth’s rotation speed at a rate of 2.3 milliseconds per
century
o ii) due to the principle of conservation of angular momentum, this modification
of the rotation increases the distance to the Moon (specifically 1 cm a year).
o iii) the Moon always shows us the same face, precisely due to this
phenomenon, which has modified its own speed.
o Iv) Ancient tidal range could have been as one order of magnitude larger than it
is at present.
– Leaving enormous humid areas that were essential for living forms for adapting to
non aquatic conditions.
• Also, tide propagation is subjected to the effects of the shoaling, refraction
etc.), the friction and the Coriolis.
Tides
Associated Energy and Types of Oscillations
Tides
Origin: Surface/Ocean Depth
% % Earth
Ocean Mean Depth
Oceans Surface
Mediterranean 1370 m
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Tides
Tidal Generating Forces: m1 m2
• Newton’s Universal Theory of Gravitation Fg f
r2
• Sun is 27 million times more massive than the moon, and its distance to the
earth is 390 times the distance from the moon to earth. So, the sun’s
gravitational attraction is ??? times that of the moon?
• The sun attraction is bigger… but we all know the moon is more effective in
producing tides than the Sun. Considering ONLY Newton’s UTG, It is only
the proportion of the gravitational force NOT balanced by centripetal
acceleration (Ac) in the Earth’s orbital motion that produces the tides.
Now considering Ac, this unbalanced portion is proportional to the inverse
cube of the distances rather than the inverse square of the distances from
the Earth. However it is still proportional to the mass as in Newton’s UTG.
• And so from this we can see that the tide raising forces of the sun are
approximately ??? times that of the Moon.
Tides
Tidal Generating Forces:
• Centripetal force
o The magnitude of the centripetal force (ac is the centripetal acceleration) on an
object of mass m moving at tangential speed v along a path with radius of
curvature r is:
v2
F mac m
r
o The direction of the force is toward the center of the circle in which the object
is moving, or the osculating circle (the circle that best fits the local path of the
object, if the path is not circular). The speed in the formula is squared, so twice
the speed needs four times the force. The inverse relationship with the radius
of curvature shows that half the radial distance requires twice the force.
Tides
Tidal Generating Forces:
• Centripetal force
o This force is also sometimes written in terms of the angular velocity ω of the
object about the center of the circle, related to the tangential velocity by the
formula:
v r
o Where = 2/T, so that:
2
2
F mr 2 F mr
T
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Tides
Tidal Generating Forces:
• Centrifugal Force
o The Centrifugal force is an outward force apparent in a rotating reference
frame; it does not exist when measurements are made in an inertial frame of
reference.
o All measurements of position and velocity must be made relative to some
frame of reference.
o An inertial frame of reference is one that is not accelerating (including rotation).
When physics is done using an inertial frame of reference, centrifugal force
does not exist. All calculations can be performed using only Newton's laws of
motion and the real forces. In its current usage the term 'centrifugal force' has
no meaning in an inertial frame. In an inertial frame, an object that has no
forces acting on it travels in a straight line, according to Newton's first law.
Tides
Tidal Generating Forces:
• Centrifugal Force
o When measurements are made with respect to a rotating reference frame,
however, the same object would have a curved path, because the frame of
reference is rotating. If it is desired to apply Newton's laws in the rotating
frame, it is necessary to introduce new, fictitious, forces to account for this
curved motion.
o In the rotating reference frame, all objects, regardless of their state of motion,
appear to be under the influence of a radially (from the axis of rotation)
outward force that is proportional to their mass, the distance from the axis of
rotation of the frame, and to the square of the angular velocity of the frame.
This is the centrifugal force.
o Motion relative to a rotating frame results in another fictitious force, the
Coriolis force; and if the rate of rotation of the frame is changing, a third
fictitious force, the Euler force is required. Together, these three fictitious
forces are necessary for the formulation of correct equations of motion in a
rotating reference frame and allow Newton's Laws to be used in their normal
form in such a frame.
Tides
Tidal Generating Forces:
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Tides
Summary Tidal Generating Forces:
• Mass of the Sun = 27 million times that of the Mass of the Moon
• Distance of the Sun to Earth= 390 times the distance of the Moon to Earth
• Gravitational forces, balanced with the centripetal force:
o Gravitatory Effects of the Sun is 0.46 times that of the Moon
• Still, upon comparison tidal forces of the moon is at most one ten‐millionth
of the earth’s surface gravity
o This may be thought of as negligable and thus insignificant, however these tiny
forces act on every single particle of water throughout the depth of the ocean,
accelerating them towards the sublunar (or subsolar) point on the near side of
the Earth and towards the antipode on the farside. Thus the undulations set up
in the deep oceans are quite gentle and only become prominent when their
energy is compressed horizontally and vertically as they ride up into shallow
and restricted coastal zones.
Tides
Equilibrium Tide (consider an ocean with no emerged boundaries)
Tides
Equilibrium Tide (consider an ocean with no emerged boundaries)
• If the orbital motion of the moon and the earth around a common mass
centre was circular, the tidal resulting motion would be 2 tides each 12 hrs
and 25 minutes
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2
sob re eleva ció (m)
-2
-4
-6
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Tides
However: Real situation is not the idealized situation!
• Moon phase effects => Neap and Spring Tides
Tides
However: Real situation is not the idealized situation!
• Moon declination (diurnal inequality)
o Moon – Earth plane: 5º declination with respect to the Ecliptic Plane
o Ecliptic Plane: 23.5º tilting with respect to the Equator
Tides
Tidal inequalities
• Moon Declination
• No coincidences within the same day (more pronounced closer to the S or N)
20
10
nive l med io (m)
-10
-20
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Tides
Tidal Components/Inequalities
Tides
Tidal Components/Inequalities
• Moon Diurnal inequalities are repeated each 29.3 days
• Solar inequalities are repeated each (roughly) 365 days and are more
pronounced after the middle of summer and winter, leading to Spring Tides
in January and July
Tides
Tidal inequalities: Paralaxial Effect
• Perigee‐Apogee (once per month); Perihelion‐Aphelion (once per year)
• Equinox (twice per year, where both poles are at the same distance to the
sun, so is when the ecliptic plane is at the equator)
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10
5
lm
eio
d m
( )
0
e
iv
n
-5
-10
-15
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Tides
Tidal inequalities
• Moon Declination
• No coincidences within the same day (even more pronounced as close to
the S or N)
20
10
nive l med io (m)
-10
-20
Tides
Co‐Tidal Lines and Amphidromic Point (tidal nodes)
• Imaginary line which represents the zones where the high and low tides
take place at the same time
• Amphidromic Point are points of zero amplitude of one harmonic
constituent of the tide. The tidal range (amplitude) for that harmonic
constituent increases with distance from this point. The co‐tidal lines rotate
clockwise in the Southern hemisphere.
Tides
Co‐Tidal Lines and Amphidromic Point (tidal nodes)
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Tides
Tidal Prediction (Harmonic Analysis)
• The harmonic analysis of tides is based on the hypothesis that variations in
sea level can be described based on a finite number of harmonic
contributions of the form:
Ai , j cos i t gi , j
• Where Ai, j is the amplitude of each component (i) in the considered
geographical point (j), gi, j is the gap with respect to the maximum of the
tide of balance (later will introduce this concept) in Greenwich and i is the
angular frequency of the harmonic. These frequencies are not random
values, but they are determined by the cycles of the astronomical forces
that give rise to tides.
Tides
Tidal Dynamic Theory / Real Tide
• In theory, Equilibrium Theory allows calculations of tidal flows in the ocean,
and the rise and fall on the shores. However, the real ocean basins have
very complicated coastal and bottom topography and it is not possible to
obtain exact solutions, except in the open sea.
• There are several important factors that modify the movement of water in
real tide situations:
o The Sun/Moon: The moon’s gravitational effect is greater than that of the suns
due to it’s closer proximity to the Earth, but acting sometimes in conjunction
with the sun and sometimes in opposition it varies the amplitude and timing of
the tides.
o Geography: Land masses obviously impede and deflect movement of water on
the Earth’s surface.
o Friction: Friction retards the movement of water particles across the Earth’s
surface – (the movement of tides across it is gradually slowing down the
rotational speed of the Earth.)
Tides
Tidal Dynamic Theory / Real Tide
o Basin Oscillation: All bodies of water have natural periods of oscillation
determined by their size and shape. All oceans are made up of a number of
oscillating basins. The resultant oscillations at any one place affect the tidal
movement or wave form depending upon the degree of resonance with the
astronomic tidal curve.
o Lunar and Terrestrial Orbits: The shape and plane of both the Earth’s orbit
around the Sun and the moon’s orbit around the Earth are such that the
distance between these bodies, their gravitational effect, varies continuously in
cycles of months, years and even longer periods.
o The Earth’s Orbit: is in the form of an eccentric ellipse (e.g. or pear shaped). At
perihelion the Earth is 146.91 million km and at aphelion it is 152.06 million km
away from the sun respectively.
o The Earth’s Declination/ Tilt: 23°27’ off the vertical, hence the declination of
the relative position of the sun and the moon as they appear to revolve around
the Earth.
o The Moon’s Orbit: Also an eccentric ellipse with a varying apogee and perogee.
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Tides
Tidal Prediction (Harmonic Analysis)
• If the Moon's orbit and the earth around their common center of mass
should be circular and its plane coincide with the Earth Equator, the
oscillations could be described in terms of a single harmonic component
called M2 (period of 12 hours and 25 minutes).
• In the case of the Sun, its influence could be included by means of the
harmonic S2, with an associated period of half‐day).
• Fortunately, things are not so simple. The fact that the plane of rotation of
the Moon and the equator of the earth do not coincide causes that the two
Maxima which passes through a point on the surface are not identical,
generating a diurnal inequality.
• We can imagine that there is a virtual astro that causes this disturbance,
and is the origin of a diurnal harmonic, as the K1.
Tides
Tidal Prediction (Harmonic Analysis)
• Since there are lots of variables that influence the shape of the ellipsoid and
undergo continuous changes, such as the distance from the Earth to the
Sun or the Moon, we need a lot of harmonics (and therefore of virtual
celestial bodies) to explain the periodic oscillation of sea level called tide.
• A full harmonic analysis of a tide gauge data taken during one year includes
about 100 constituents. Once the study is complete, the surface elevation
at a point j and at a certain time t can be described by:
j ,t Ai , j fi , j cos i t gi , j Vi ,t vi , j
n
i 1
o Being Ai, j the amplitude of the harmonic i at the point j, i the frequency, gi, j
the gap with respect to the maximum of the equilibrium tide at Greenwich
(note that this variable does not have a temporal dependency, allowing the
description of the phase differences between geographical points at a given
moment), Vi, t the lag with respect to the origin of time (with values between 0
and the tide period) and, finally, the so‐called nodal factors fi, t and vi, t.
Tides
Tidal Prediction (Harmonic Analysis)
• These are a few modulations, for both amplitude and phase, which allow to
include the effects of long period harmonics (up to 18.6 years) that can not
be solved in one‐year‐data analysis.
• Thus, for example, fM2, t can be expressed as 1.0 ‐ 0. 037cos (N), n = 0 in
March 1969, November 1987, June 2006, etc.
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Tides
Tidal Prediction
•
Tides
Tidal Constituents
•
Tides
Tidal Constituents at Barcelona
• Latitud 41.350 Cobertura 1992 - 2006
http://moises.puertos.es/Mareas/Principal.php?Estacion=3754
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Tides
Tidal Constituents at Barcelona
Frecuencia (ciclos/hora) 0 0.037218 0.03873 0.041552 0.041666
Periodo (1/Frecuencia) 26.869 25.820 24.066 24.000
Amplitud (cm) 33.63 0.28 2.3 1.27 0.7
Fase (Gra. Exa.) 0 51.3 102.95 161.99 228.74
• Desfase (Rad) = Fase*pi/180 0 0.895353906 1.796816465 2.827258855 3.992266131
0 -11.5865456 Comp. = Ampl. · Cos[(2·pi·Freq.T)-Desfase] 33.63 0.175067944 -0.515431542 -1.207773262 -0.461633918
1 -12.25358072 33.63 0.220938981 0.039851552 -1.065489084 -0.582094967
2 -11.03874745 33.63 0.254782995 0.592786334 -0.850990419 -0.662888468
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