Tide Waves Research Paper

Tides are the periodic rise and falling of large bodies of water. The word tide is a term used to define the alternating rise and fall in sea level relevant to the land produced by the gravitational attraction of the moon and the sun. Winds and currents move the surface of the water causing waves. The gravitational attraction of the moon causes the oceans to bulge in the direction of the moon. Another bulge occurs on the opposite side because the Earth is also being pulled toward the moon and away from the water on the far side. Ocean levels fluctuate daily as the sun, the moon, and the earth interact. As the moon travels around the earth and as they, together, travel around the sun the combined gravitational forces cause the oceans to rise and fall.
At this time the high tides are higher than normal and the low tides are lower thn normal. This is known as a spring tide. Spring tides are especially strong tides (but they do not have anything to do with the season Spring). They occur when the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are in a line. The gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun both, make the tides much stronger. During the moon's quarter phases the sun and moon work at right angles causing the bulges to cancel each other out. As a result there is a much smaller difference between high and low tides and is known as a neap tide. Neap tides are very weak tides. They occur when the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun are perpendicular to one