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Phases of The Moon One revolution of the Moon around Earth takes a little over 27 days 7 hours.

The Moon rotates on its axis in this same period of time, so the same face of the Moon is always presented to Earth. Over a period a little longer than 29 days 12 hours, the Moon goes through a series of phases, in which the amount of the lighted half of the Moon we see from Earth changes. These phases are caused by the changing angle of sunlight hitting the Moon. (The period of phases is longer than the period of revolution of the Moon, because the motion of Earth around the Sun changes the angle at which the Suns light hits the Moon from night to night.) The Moons orbit around Earth is tilted 5 from the plane of Earths orbit. Because of this tilt, when the Moon is at the point in its orbit when it is between Earth and the Sun, the Moon is usually a little above or below the Sun. At that time, the Sun lights the side of the Moon facing away from Earth, and the side of the Moon facing toward Earth is dark. This point in the Moons orbit corresponds to a phase of the Moon called the new moon. A quarter moon occurs when the Moon is at right angles to the line formed by the Sun and Earth. The Sun lights the side of the Moon closest to it, and half of that side is visible from Earth, forming a bright half-circle. When the Moon is on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun, the face of the Moon visible from Earth is lit, showing the full moon in the sky. Full Moon When the Moon appears as a full moon, all of its visible side is in sunlight. Waning Gibbous After a full moon, the Moon begins to decrease again. The Moon is now said to be waning. It is also said to be gibbous (between a semicircle and a full circle in shape). Last Quarter The Moon continues waning until it reaches its last quarter, also known as half-moon. Waning Cresent After the last quarter of the Moons phases, the size of the lit side of the Moon continues to decrease. This phase is called waning. It ends with a new moon, when the phases begin again. New Moon With a new moon, the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth, causing none of the illuminated side of the Moon to be visible to the Earth. Waxing Cresent

After a new moon, the Moon moves through a crescent phase. The moon is now said to be waxing. First Quarter When the Moon reaches the first quarter of its phases, it appears as a half-moon. One half of the Moon is now lit up by sunlight. Waxing Gibbous After the first half-moon, or first quarter, the Moon moves towards full moon. As more of it is lit up, the Moon is said to be waxing. It is also said to be gibbous (between a semicircle and a full circle in shape).

INTRODUCTION Tide, periodic rise and fall of all ocean waters, including those of open sea, gulfs, and bays, resulting from the gravitational attraction of the moon and the sun upon the water and upon the earth itself. See Gravitation. I I LUNAR TIDES . The moon, being much nearer to the earth than the sun, is the principal cause of tides. Because the force of gravity decreases with distance, the moon exerts a stronger gravitational pull on the side of the earth that is closer to it and a weaker pull on the side farther from it. The earth does not respond to this variation in strength because the planet is rigidinstead, it moves in response to the average of the moons gravitational attraction. The worlds oceans, however, are liquid and can flow in response to the variation in the moons pull. On the side of the earth facing the moon, the moons stronger pull makes water flow toward it, causing a dome of water to rise on the earths surface directly below the moon. On the side of the earth facing away from the moon, the moons pull on the oceans is weakest. The waters inertia, or its tendency to keep traveling in the same direction, makes it want to fly off the earth instead of rotate with the planet. The moons weaker pull does not compensate as much for the waters inertia on the far side, so another dome of water rises on this side of the earth. The dome of water directly beneath the moon is called direct tide, and the dome of water on the opposite side of the earth is called opposite tide. As the earth rotates throughout the day, the domes of water remain aligned with the moon and travel around the globe. When a dome of water passes a place on the earth, that place experiences a rise in the level of the ocean water, known as high tide or high water. Between successive high tides the water level drops. The lowest water level reached between successive high tides is known as low tide or low water. Low and high tides alternate in a continuous cycle. The variations that naturally occur in the level between successive high tide and low tide are

referred to as the range of tide. At most shores throughout the world, two high tides and two low tides occur every lunar day, the average length of a lunar day being 24 hours, 50 minutes, and 28 seconds. One of these high tides is caused by the direct-tide dome and the other by the oppositetide dome. Two successive high tides or low tides are generally of about the same height. At various places outside the Atlantic Ocean, however, these heights vary considerably; this phenomenon, which is known as diurnal inequality, is not completely understood at the present time. SOLAR TIDES Tides The sun likewise gives rise to two oppositely situated domes, but because the sun is far from the earth, its tide-raising force is only about 46 percent that of the moon. The sum of the forces exerted by the moon and sun result in two sets of domes, the positions of which depend on the relative positions of the sun and moon at the time. During the periods of new and full moon, when the sun, moon, and earth are directly in line, the solar and lunar domes coincide. This results in the condition known as spring tides, in which the high tide is higher and the low tide is lower than usual. When the moon is in first or in third quarter, however, it is at right angles to the sun relative to the earth, and the height of the tides is subject to the opposing forces of the sun and moon. This condition produces neap tides, in which the high tide is lower, and the low tide is higher, than normal. Spring and neap tides occur about 60 hours after the corresponding phases of the moon, the intervening period of time being known as the age of the tide or age of the phase inequality. The interval of time between the crossing of a meridian by the moon at one point and the next high tide at that point is called the lunitidal interval, or the high-water interval for that point. The low-water interval is the period between the time the moon crosses the meridian and the next low tide. Average values for the high-water lunitidal intervals during periods of new and full moon are known as the establishment of the port. Values for the intervals during other periods of the month are often referred to as the corrected establishment.

TIDAL CURRENTS AND WAVES

Tidal Pool The fluctuation of the tide allows for a unique environment along shorelines. The current continually circulates and replenishes a rich supply of nutrients along beaches, but organisms living there must be adapted to both buffeting waves and frequent shifts from open air to complete submersion. Marine organisms adapt to the constantly changing surroundings in a variety of ways. Starfish use suction-cup feet, barnacles fix permanently to large objects like rocks and boats, and seaweed anchors firmly to the ocean floor. When the tide goes out, pockets of water remain trapped in rocks, depressions in the sand, and natural basins called tidal pools, like the one shown here during low tide. Encarta Encyclopedia Pat O'Hara Photography

Full Size Accompanying the vertical rise and fall of water are various horizontal or lateral movements commonly known as tidal currents or tidal streams, which are very different from the common ocean currents (see Ocean and Oceanography). In confined areas, a tidal current flows for about 6 hours, 12 minutes in an upstream or shoreward direction, corresponding to high tide; it then reverses and flows for approximately the same time in the opposite direction, corresponding to low tide. During the period of reversal, the water is characterized by a state of rest, or calm, known as slack water or slack tide. A current flowing toward the shore or upstream is called flood current; that flowing in a direction away from land or downstream is known as ebb current. At various times gigantic waves strike the surrounding shore with tremendous force and cause considerable damage to life and property. Although sometimes called tidal waves, these waves are not caused by tidal phenomena. Earthquakes, undersea volcanic eruptions, and underwater landslides can cause large waves to wash ashore that are known as tsunamis, while hurricanes can cause a dome of water to wash ashore that is known as a storm surge. Another related phenomenon is the seiche, which usually occurs in landlocked seas, coves, bays, or lakes, such as San Francisco Bay in California and Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The water surface is observed to oscillate between a few centimeters and several meters mainly because of tidal forces or local variations in atmospheric pressure aided by high winds, but sometimes as a result of a distant seismic shock. The movement of water occurs in long waves and may last from a few minutes to several hours. TIDAL ENERGY The energy of tides has been harnessed to produce electricity. In the summer of 1966, a tidal power plant with a capacity of 240,000 kw went into operation on the Rance River, an estuary of the English Channel in northwestern France. The incoming tide of the river flows through a dam, driving turbines, and then is trapped behind the dam. When the tide ebbs, the trapped water is released and flows back through the dam, again driving the turbines. Such tidal power plants are most efficient if the difference between high and low tides is great, as in the Rance estuary, where the difference is 8.5 m (28 ft). The highest tides in the world occur in the Bay of Fundy in Canada, where the difference between high and low tide is about 18 m (about 60 ft). The erection of a tidal power plant across Passamaquoddy Bay, an arm of the Bay of Fundy, has long been contemplated; however, the project has not yet been begun.

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