01:460:120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Sea Level, Cengage Learning, Tide
21 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
How gravity and inertia eventually produce tides: a planet obits the sun (or a moon orbits a planet) in balance between gravity and inertia. If the planet (or moon) is not moving, gravity will pull it into the sun (or planet) If the planet is moving, the inertia of the planet will keep it moving in a straight line. Lunar say is 50 minutes longer than solar day; the moon rises 50 minutes later each day: this explains why tide intervals are 12hrs 25 min apart. The monthly tidal cycle depends on the position of the earth, moon and sun. The angular declination of the moon"s orbit, above or below earth"s equatorial plane, complicates the simple picture of tidal bulges: declination of moon"s orbit changes from north to south of the equator over one year. Other complicating factors include effects of continents, water depth, bathymetry, etc.
