OCEAN WATER (Salinity, Density, and Temperature)

S K MANOCHA

• Water is called the “universal solvent”. Most natural elements and the
compounds they form are found in the seas as dissolved solids.

• Salinity is the total amount of solid material dissolved in water

including dissolved gases (because even gases become solid at low
enough temperatures) but excluding dissolved organic substances. Salinity is
generally expressed in parts per thousand. The average salinity of the
world ocean is given as 35 parts per thousand.

• Ocean water has a uniform composition. The principle of constant

proportions states that the major dissolved constituents responsible
for the salinity of seawater occur nearly everywhere in the ocean in
the exact same proportions, independent of salinity.

• Seawater salinity can be measured very accurately with modern

oceanographic instruments such as a salinometer. Most salinometers
measure seawater’s electric conductivity, which increases as more
substances are dissolved in water.

• Dissolved substances decrease the freezing point and increase the

boiling point of water. Thus, seawater freezes at a temperature 1.9
degrees C lower than pure water. Similarly, seawater boils at a
temperature 0.6 degrees C higher than pure water. Freezing point of
saline water (35 parts per thousand) is -1.9 degrees C and the boiling
point is 100.6 degrees C.

Why does seawater salinity vary

• In the open ocean, salinity varies between about 33 and 38 parts per
thousand. In coastal areas, salinity variations can be extreme. The term
brine is applied to water that exceeds the average of 35 ppt salinity, whereas
brackish applies to water that is less than 35 ppt.

• Generally, oceans are lower in salinity near landmasses because of river discharges
and runoff. Extreme examples include the Baltic Sea (north of Poland and Germany)
and the Gulf of Bothnia (between Sweden and Finland), which average 10 parts per
 thousand or less salinity because of heavy freshwater runoff and low evaporation
rates. On the other hand, the Sargasso Sea, within the North Atlantic subtropical
gyre, averages 38 ppt. The Persian Gulf/Red Sea has a salinity of 40 ppt/42ppt as a
result of high evaporation rates in an almost-enclosed basin. Hypersaline water is
typical of seas and inland bodies of water that experience high evaporation rates and
limited open ocean circulation (for ex. the Great Salt Lake in Utah, has a salinity of
280 parts per thousand, and the Dead Sea on the border of Israel and Jordan has a
salinity of 330 parts per thousand).

Processes affecting seawater salinity

Processes that decrease the seawater salinity

• Precipitation, runoff /stream discharge (runoff adds mostly water to the
ocean, causing seawater salinity to decrease); melting icebergs (when icebergs
melt in the ocean, they add freshwater), and melting sea ice decrease
seawater salinity by adding more freshwater to the ocean.
Processes that increase seawater salinity
• The formation of sea ice and evaporation increase seawater salinity by
removing water from the oceans. Sea ice forms when seawater freezes.
Evaporation removes water from the ocean, leaving its dissolved
substances behind. Evaporation, therefore, increases seawater salinity.

How does seawater salinity vary at the surface and with depth
• Salinity is the lowest at high latitudes, highest at the Tropics of Cancer and
Capricorn, and dips near the equator.

• At high latitudes, precipitation and runoff and the melting of freshwater icebergs
all decrease salinity. In addition, cool temperatures limit the amount of
evaporation that takes place. The formation and melting of sea ice balance each
other out in the course of a year and are not a factor in changes in salinity.

• Near the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn (salinity is more concentrated, increasing
to 36.5 parts per thousand), evaporation rates are high (hot, dry, subtropical high-
pressure cells) and salinity increases. In addition, little precipitation and runoff occur
to decrease salinity.

• Temperature are warm near the equator, so evaporation rates are high enough to
increase salinity. Increased precipitation and runoff partially off-sets the high
salinity, though. For ex., daily rain showers are common along the equator, adding
water to the ocean and lowering its salinity. In equatorial water, precipitation is
high throughout the year, diluting salinity values to slightly lower than average
(34.5 parts per thousand).
 • Higher salinity is seen in the areas closer to land because of continentality – which
causes higher rates of evaporation (for ex., in the Atlantic Ocean, near the Tropics of
Cancer and Capricorn.)

Salinity variation with depth

• For low-latitude regions (such as in the tropics), the curve begins at the surface with
relatively high salinity. With increasing depth, the curve swings toward an
intermediate salinity value.

• For high-latitude regions (such as near Antarctica or in the Gulf of Alaska), the curve
begins at the surface with relatively low salinity. With increasing depth, the curve
also swings towards the intermediate salinity value that approaches the value of the
low-latitude salinity curve at the same depth.

• This implies that salinity varies widely at the surface, but very little in the deep
ocean. It is because all the processes that affect seawater salinity occur
at the surface and thus have no effect on deep water below.

Halocline
• The figure for salinity variation shows a rapid change in salinity between the depths
of about 300 metres and 1000 metres. For the low-latitude curve, the change is a
decrease in salinity. For the high-latitude curve, the change is an increase in salinity.
In both cases, this layer of rapidly changing salinity with depth is called a halocline
(halo = salt, cline = slope). Haloclines separate layers of different salinity in the
oceans.

• Freshwater runoff from the continents generally lowers the salinity of coastal
regions as compared to the open ocean. When precipitation on land is mostly rain,
river runoff peaks in the rainy season. Where runoff is due mainly to melting snow
and ice, on the other hand, runoff always peaks in summer.

How does seawater density vary with depth

• The density of pure-water is 1.000 gm/cubic cm at 4 degrees C. This value serves as
a standard against which the density of all other substances can be measured.

• In the open ocean, seawater density averages between 1.022 and 1.030 g/cubic cm
(depending on its salinity). The density of seawater is 2 to 3% greater than pure
water.

• Density is an important property of ocean water because density differences

determine the vertical position of ocean water and cause water masses to float or
sink, thereby creating deep-ocean currents.
• The density of most substances increases as temperature decreases (because of
thermal contraction). In water, thermal contraction happens only to a certain point.
As pure water cools to 4 degrees C, its density increases. From 4
degrees C, down to 0 degree C, however, its density decreases
(because it expands!). THE RESULT IS THAT ICE IS LESS DENSE THAN LIQUID
WATER, SO ICE FLOATS ON WATER. BY THE TIME WATER FULLY FREEZES, THE
DENSITY OF THE ICE IS MUCH LESS THAN THAT OF WATER AT 4 DEGREES C, THE
TEMPERATURE AT WHICH WATER ACHIEVES ITS MAXIMUM DENSITY. WHEN WATER
FREEZES, ITS VOLUME INCREASES BY ABOUT 9%.

• Unlike freshwater, seawater continues to increase in density until it

freezes at a temperature of – 1.9 degrees C (recall that below 4 degrees
C, the density of freshwater actually decreases). At its freezing point,
however, seawater behaves in a similar fashion to freshwater – its
density decreases dramatically, which is why sea ice floats, too.

• DISSOLVED SOLIDS REDUCE THE FREEZING POINT OF WATER, TOO. IT IS ONE OF THE
REASONS WHY MOST SEAWATER NEVER FREEZES, EXCEPT NEAR EARTH’S FRIGID
POLES (AND EVEN THEN, ONLY AT THE SURFACE).

• Low-density water exists near the surface and higher density water occurs below.
Except for some shallow inland seas with a high rate of evaporation that creates high
salinity water, the highest-density water is found at the deepest ocean depths.

• Temperature, Salinity, and Pressure – all affect density.

• As temperature increases, seawater density decreases (due to thermal expansion).

• As salinity increases, seawater density increases (due to the addition of more

dissolved material).

• As pressure increases, seawater density increases (due to the compressive effects of

pressure). NOTE: SINCE THE WATER CANNOT BE COMPRESSED MUCH -- PRESSURE
HAS THE LEAST EFFECT ON INFLUENCING THE DENSITY OF SURFACE WATER AND
CAN BE LARGELY IGNORED).

Temperature and Density variation with depth

• In low-latitude regions, surface waters are warmed by high sun angles and constant
length of days. However, the Sun’s energy does not penetrate very far into the
ocean. Surface water temperatures remain relatively constant with a depth of about
300 metres because of good surface mixing mechanisms such as currents, waves,
and tides. Below 300 metres, the temperature decreases rapidly until a depth of
about 1000 metres. Below 1000 metres, the water’s low temperature again remains
constant down to the ocean floor.
 • In high-latitude regions where surface waters remain cool year-round and deep-
water temperatures are about the same as the surface. The temperature curve for
high-latitude regions, therefore, is a straight vertical line, which indicates uniform
conditions at the surface and at depth.

• The density curve for low-latitude regions shows that density is relatively low at
the surface. Density is low because surface water temperatures are high.
(remember that temperature has the greatest influence on density and
temperature is inversely proportional to density). Below the surface, density
remains constant also until a depth of about 300 metres because of good surface
mixing. Below 300 metres, the density increases rapidly until a depth of about 1000
metres. Below 1000 metres, the water’s low density again remains constant down to
the ocean floor.

• The density curve for high-latitude regions shows very little variations with depth.
Density is relatively high at the surface because surface water temperatures are low.
Density is high below the surface, too, because water temperature is also low. The
density curve for high-latitude regions, therefore, is a straight vertical line, which
indicates uniform conditions at the surface and depth.

• NOTE: TEMPERATURE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR INFLUENCING SEAWATER

DENSITY, SO THE TEMPERATURE GRAPHS STRONGLY RESEMBLE DENSITY GRAPHS.
THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT THEY ARE A MIRROR IMAGE OF EACH OTHER,
ILLUSTRATING THAT TEMPERATURE AND DENSITY ARE INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL
TO ONE ANOTHER.

Thermocline and Pycnocline

• Thermocline is a layer of rapidly changing temperature and pycnocline is a layer of

rapidly changing density. Note that the high-latitude graphs of temperature and
density lack both a thermocline and a pycnocline, respectively, because these lines
show a constant value with depth. Like a halocline, a thermocline and a pycnocline
typically occur between about 300 metres and 1000 metres below the surface. The
temperature difference between water above and below the thermocline can be used
to generate electricity.

• WHEN A PYCNOCLINE IS ESTABLISHED IN AN AREA, IT PRESENTS AN INCREDIBLE

BARRIER TO MIXING BETWEEN LOW-DENSITY WATER ABOVE AND HIGH-DENSITY
WATER BELOW. A PYCNOCLINE HAS A HIGH GRAVITATIONAL STABILITY AND THUS
PHYSICALLY ISOLATES ADJACENT LAYERS OF WATER.

• IN HIGH-LATITUDE REGIONS, NEARLY ALL YEAR, THE WATER COLUMN IS

ISOTHERMAL AND ISOPYCNAL ALLOWING GOOD VERTICAL MIXING BETWEEN
SURFACE AND DEEPER WATERS.
Temperature

• In low-latitude coastal regions, where circulation with the open ocean is restricted,
surface waters are prevented from mixing thoroughly, so sea surface temperatures
may approach 45 degrees C. Alternatively, sea ice forms in many high-latitude
coastal areas where water temperatures are uniformly cold – generally lower than
-2 degrees C. In both low- and high-latitude coastal-waters, isothermal conditions
prevail.

• Surface temperatures in middle latitude coastal regions are coolest in winter and
warmest in late summer. A strong thermocline may develop from surface water
being warmed during the summer and cooled during the winter.

• Prevailing offshore winds can significantly affect surface water temperatures.

These winds are relatively warm during the summer, so they increase the ocean
surface temperature and seawater evaporation. During winter, they are much cooler
than the ocean surface, so they absorb heat and cool surface water near shore.
Mixing from strong winds may drive the thermoclines deeper and even mix the
entire water column, producing isothermal conditions. Tidal currents can also cause
considerable vertical mixing in shallow coastal waters.

• Ocean temperatures have a far narrower range than temperatures on land. The
minimum surface temperature of the open ocean is seldom below – 2 degrees C
and the maximum surface temperature seldom exceeds 32 degrees C (except in
some shallow coastal water). Further, the ocean has a smaller daily, seasonal, and
annual temperature range than that experienced on land.

Important observations

• Today, new minerals are forming on the sea floor at the same rate as dissolved
materials are added. Thus, the salt content of the ocean is in a “steady state,”
meaning that it is not increasing or decreasing.

• The salinity of seawater is typically about 3.5%, about 220 times saltier
than freshwater.

• The oceans remain a remarkably homogenous mixture, and the ratio of individual
salts does not change, despite minor fluctuations in overall salinity.

• The uniformity of seawater results from the complimentary chemical reactions and
continuous mixing.

• Seawater has constancy of composition, so the concentration of a single major

constituent can be measured to determine the total salinity of a given seawater
sample. The constituent that occurs in the greatest abundance and is the easiest to
 measure accurately is the chloride ion. The weight of this ion in a water sample is
its chlorinity.

• Sea ice forms when ocean water freezes in high-latitude regions and is composed
primarily of freshwater. When warmer temperatures return to high-latitude
regions in the summer, sea ice melts in the ocean, adding mostly freshwater with a
small amount of salt to the ocean, Seawater salinity, therefore, is decreased.

• Freshwater is less dense than seawater, so river runoff does not mix well with
seawater along the coast. Instead, the freshwater forms a wedge at the surface,
which creates a well-developed halocline. When water is shallow enough, however,
tidal mixing causes freshwater to mix with seawater, thus, reducing the salinity of
the water column.

• COLD WATER THAT ALSO HAS HIGH SALINITY IS SOME OF THE HIGHEST-DENSITY
WATER IN THE WORLD.
 OCEAN CURRENTS HANDOUT by S K MANOCHA
Subtropical Gyres and Surface Ocean Currents A. Pacific Ocean

• North Pacific Gyre – 1. North Pacific Dri0/Current (W) 2. California

Current (C) 3. North Equatorial Current (W) 4. Kuroshio Current/Japan Current (W)

• South Pacific Gyre – 1. South Equatorial Current (W) 2. East Australian Current (W)
3. West Wind Dri0/AntarcGc Circum-Polar Current (C) 4. Peru/Humboldt Current (C)

• Other Major Currents – 1. Equatorial Counter Current (W) 2. Alaskan Current (W) 3.
Oyashio Current (C)
B. AtlanEc Ocean

• North AtlanEc Gyre – 1. North AtlanGc Dri0/Current (W) 2. Canary Current (C) 3.
North Equatorial Current (W) 4. Gulf Stream (W)

• South AtlanEc Gyre – 1. South Equatorial Current (W) 2. Brazil Current

(W) 3. West Wind Dri0 (C) 4. Benguela Current (C)

• Other major Currents – 1. Equatorial Counter Current (W) 2. Florida Current (W) 3.
East Greenland Current (C) 4. Labrador Current (C) 5. Falkland Current (C)
C. Indian Ocean
• Indian Ocean Gyre – 1. South Equatorial Current (W) 2. Agulhas Current (W) 3. West
Wind Dri0 (C) 4. West Australian Current (C)
• Other Major Currents – 1. Equatorial Counter Current (W) 2. North Equatorial
Current (W) 3. Leeuwin Current (W) 4. Somali Current (W)

VAJIRAM & RAVI 1

 EKMAN SPIRAL AND EKMAN TRANSPORT

V. Walfrid Ekman, a Swedish physicist, developed a circulaGon model in 1905 called the
Ekman spiral.

(a) The Ekman Spiral - Ekman’s model assumes that a column of water is set in moGon
by wind blowing across its surface. Because of the Coriolis effect, the immediate surface
water moves in a direcGon 45 degrees to the right of the wind (in the Northern
Hemisphere). The surface water moves as a thin “layer” on top of deeper layers of water. As
the surface layer moves, other layers beneath it are set in moGon, thus passing the energy
of the wind down through the water column. Current speed decreases with increasing
depth. The Coriolis effect increases curvature to the right (like a spiral). Each successive
layer of water is set in moGon at a progressively slower speed, and in a direcGon
progressively to the right of the one above it. At some depth, a layer of water may move in
a direcGon exactly opposite from the wind direcGon.
The sGllness of water occurs, on an average, at a depth of about 100 metres.

(b) Ekman Transport – It is the average water movement for the enGre column, and it is
taken at a right angle to the wind direcGon.

VAJIRAM & RAVI 2

ATLANTIC OCEAN CIRCULATION

• S.E.C. (W) encounters the coast of Brazil and splits in two, and these waters feed the
loops in the two hemispheres.

• Outside the gyre, the Falkland Current (C) is also called the Malvinas Current.
• The Gulf stream (W) is the best studied of all ocean currents. It moves along the east
coast of the United States, warming coastal States and moderaGng winters in these
and northern European regions.

• N.E.C. (W) splits into the AnElles Current (W), which passes along the AtlanGc side
of the West Indies, and the Caribbean Current (W), which passes through the
Yucatan Channel into the Gulf of Mexico. These masses reconverge as the Florida
Current (W).

• The Sargasso Sea is the water that circulates around the rotaGon centre of the North
AtlanGc Gyre. Its name is derived from a type of floaGng marine alga called
sargassum that abounds its surface.

• Southeast of Newfoundland, the Gulf Stream conGnues in an easterly direcGon

across the North AtlanGc. Here the Gulf Stream breaks into numerous branches,
many of which become cold dense enough to sink beneath the surface. One major
branch combines the cold water of the Labrador Current with the warm Gulf Stream
(Fishing Zone and abundant Fog). This branch eventually breaks into the Irminger
Current (W), which flows along Iceland’s west coast, and the Norwegian Current
(W), which moves along Norway’s coast. The other major branch crosses the North
AtlanGc as the North AtlanEc Current/DriY (W), which turns southward to become
the cool Canary Current (C).

• Spain and Portugal have warm climates even though they are at the same laGtude
as the New England States which are known for severe winters.

• The warming that northern Europe experiences because of the Gulf

Stream is as much as 9 degrees C, which is enough to keep high-laGtude BalEc ports
(along the shores of the BalGc Sea/countries like Denmark, Finland, Poland,
Sweden,..) ice free throughout the year.

VAJIRAM & RAVI 3

 • North Africa’s coastal waters are cooled by the south-ward Canary Current (C) and
are much cooler than waters near Florida and Gulf of Mexico.

VAJIRAM & RAVI 4

INDIAN OCEAN CIRCULATION

• During the winter Gme North East Monsoon, winds cause the N.E.C.(W) to flow
from east to west and its extension, the Somali Current (W), which flows along the
coast of Africa. An Equatorial Counter Current (W) is also established.

• During the summerGme South West Monsoon, the winds reverse, causing the N.E.C.
(W) to be replaced by the S. W. Monsoon Current (W) which flows in the opposite
direcGon. The winds cause the Somali Current reverse as well, which flows rapidly
northward and feeds the S. W. Monsoon Current.

VAJIRAM & RAVI 5

PACIFIC OCEAN CIRCULATION

• Warm waters of the Kuroshio/Japan Current (W) make Japan’s climate warmer than
would be expected for its laGtude.

VAJIRAM & RAVI 6

 • Some North Pacific Current (W) water flows to the north and merges into the
Alaskan Current (W) in the Gulf of Alaska.

Subtropical Gyres – Nomenclature

• The North AtlanGc Gyre - the Columbus Gyre

• The South AtlanGc Gyre - the Navigator Gyre (a0er Portugal’s Prince Henry, the
Navigator)
• The North Pacific Gyre - the Turtle Gyre
• The South Pacific Gyre - the Heyerdahl Gyre
• The Indian Ocean Gyre - the Majid Gyre

DEEP-OCEAN CURRENTS

Density differences create deep currents. Although the density differences are usually
small, they are large enough to cause denser waters to sink. Deepwater currents move
larger volumes of water and are much slower than surface currents. Typical speeds of deep
currents range from 10 to 20 km per year. Because the density variaGons that cause deep
ocean circulaGon are caused by differences in temperature and salinity, deep ocean
circulaGon is also referred to as thermohaline circulaEon.

Sub Polar Gyres – Northern and Southern boundary currents of subtropical gyres that flow
eastward as a result of the prevailing westerlies eventually move into subpolar laGtude.
Here, they are driven in a westerly direcGon by the Polar Easterlies, producing Subpolar
Gyres that rotate opposite the adjacent subtropical gyres. Subpolar gyres are smaller and
fewer than subtropical gyres. Two examples – 1. Viking Gyre – between Greenland and
Europe 2. Gyre in the Weddel Sea off AntarcGca

Upwelling and Downwelling

• Upwelling is the verGcal movement of cold, deep, nutrient-rich water to the
surface; downwelling is the verGcal movement of surface water to deeper parts
of the ocean.
• Upwelling hoists chilled water to the surface. This cold water, rich in nutrients
creates high producGvity. Downwelling, on the hand carries necessary dissolved
oxygen to those organisms living on the deep-sea floor.
———————————————————————————————————
One million cubic metres per second is a useful flow rate for describing ocean currents, and
it is used as a standard unit, named the Sverdrup (Sv), a0er the Nowergian meteorologist
and physical oceanographer Harald Sverdrup.

VAJIRAM & RAVI 7

water mass, body of ocean water with a distinctive narrow range of temperature
and salinity and a particular density resulting from these two parameters. Water
masses are formed as the result of climatic effects in specific regions. Antarctic
bottom water is an important water mass that forms on the Antarctic continental
shelf as a cold, dense residual brine during the formation of sea ice

Mediterranean water is another example of a water mass. Excessive evaporation, low rainfall, and
high temperatures continually generate large volumes of warm (11.9° C), salty (36.5 parts per
thousand) water
TIDES S K MANOCHA

(Note – first read the content under the topic - Moon, as given in the second
part of this handout)

Tides

• The periodic rise and fall in the level of the coastal water in the oceans
and seas is known as tides.
• Tides are produced as a gravitational interaction of the earth, moon, and
sun.
• Although enormously larger than the moon, the sun is so very much
farther from the earth, its tide-producing power is only five-elevenths
(about 45%) that of the moon.
• The rise of seawater and its movement towards the coast is called tide
and the resultant high-water level is known as High Tide Water (a rising
tide is also called a flood tide). The fall of seawater and its movement
towards the sea is called Ebb and the resultant low water level is called
Low Tide Water (a falling tide is an ebb tide). The vertical difference
between high and low tide water levels is called the Tidal Range/Tidal
Amplitude.
• The moon always controls the time at which low and high waters occur,
whereas the sun’s effect is to modify the tidal range/amplitude greatly
at different times in the lunar or synodic month (refer to the section on
Moon).
• The sea waves generated by tides are called tidal waves.
• The highest tides occur where Open Ocean (away from the coast) water
is forced into partially enclosed gulfs or bays. The Bay of Fundy in Nova
Scotia records the greatest tidal range/amplitude on the earth (a
difference of about 16 metres between low and high tide water levels).
• TIDES ALSO EXIST IN LARGE LAKES BUT THE TIDAL RANGE/AMPLITUDE IS
SMALL, MAKING TIDES DIFFICULT TO DISTINGUISH FROM CHANGES
CAUSED BY WIND.
• In some coastal areas there is a regular pattern of one high tide and one
low tide each day; this is a diurnal tide. In other areas there is a cyclic
high water-low water sequence that is repeated twice in one day; this is
a semi-diurnal tide. In a semi-diurnal tidal pattern, both high tides reach
about the same height, and both low tides drop to about the same level
with each cycle. A tide in which the high tides regularly reach different
 heights and the low tides drop regularly to different levels is called a
mixed tide.
• Tides are complex and they vary from place to place, because of:
a) the movement of moon in relation to the earth
b) changes in positions of the sun and the moon in relation to the earth
c) uneven distribution of water on the earth’s surface
d) irregularities in the configuration of oceans
• The greatest tidal range (in other words, the highest tide) occurs when
the three bodies are positioned in a straight line, which usually occurs
twice a month near the times of the full moon and new moon. When
thus aligned, the joint gravitational pull of the sun and moon is along the
same line, so that the combined pull is at a maximum. This is true both
when the moon is between the earth and the sun, and when the earth
is between the moon and the sun. In either case, this is a time of higher
than usual tides, called spring tides (Spring Tides – Tides of unusually
great range/amplitude which occur about twice a month (every 14.75
days) at New Moon and Full Moon, when moon and sun are in
conjunction and opposition, respectively) - Refer to the sketches
• When the sun and moon are located at right angles to one another with
respect to the earth, their individual gravitational pulls are diminished
because they are now pulling at right angles to each other. This right
angle pulling results in a lower than normal tidal range/amplitude called
a neap tide (Neap Tides – When the moon and sun are in quadrature, in
the phases of first and third quarters, the sun’s tide producing force
tends to balance out that of the moon, causing tides of unusually small
range/amplitude). Neap tides are about 20% less than the average;
spring tides are about 20% greater than the average.
• Perigean and Apogean Tides – When the moon is at its perigee in its
orbit (nearest the earth), its tide-producing power is markedly greater
than average and results in Perigean Tides which are 15-20% greater
than average. The time interval from perigee to perigee is 27.5 days.
When the moon is at apogee (farthest from the earth), tides are about
20% less than average and are known as Apogean Tides.
• On occasions, when Spring Tides coincide with Perigean Tides, the tidal
range/amplitude is of course, abnormally great, but when Neap Tides
and Apogean Tides occur together, the tidal range/amplitude is
abnormally small.
• River Tides – Many of the world’s great rivers experience tides in their
lower parts (near the mouth) and are known as tidal rivers. This
condition has resulted where the coastal area has recently subsided, or
 the ocean level risen, causing the lower part of the river to be drowned
in the ocean. In a strict sense, such water bodies are not rivers, but are
arms of the sea or estuaries (Estuary – the tidal mouth of a river where
the saltwater of the tides meets the fresh water of the river).
• Tidal Bores – When a tidal wave enters an estuary, the wave increases in
height as the estuary becomes increasingly shallow and narrow.
Ultimately, the wave breaks and forms a wall of foaming water which
often surges forward at several kilometers per hour. This usually
happens when the tidal wave meets a river. The famous examples of the
rivers where bores occur – Amazon, Hooghly, Tsien-Tang-Kiang and
Colorado. Bores occur in rivers which have large funnel-shaped estuaries,
where there is a large tidal range/amplitude, and which face the
direction of tidal surge.
• Direct and Indirect High Tides – The water level rise on the side directly
facing the moon is called Direct High Tide, whereas the rise on the
opposite side is called Indirect High Tide (refer to the sketches)
• While the earth turns, the Moon is also moving eastward along its orbit
about the earth. After 24 hours the earth point that began directly under
the moon is no longer directly under the moon. The earth must turn
further more (by 12 degrees) to bring the starting point on earth back in
line with the moon. Therefore, a lunar tidal day is not 24 hours long,
but 24 hours and 50 minutes. This also explains why corresponding tides
arrive at nay location about one hour later each day.
• Because it takes 24 hours and 50 minutes for the earth to turn once,
with reference to moon, two High Waters and two Low Waters will
occur during this period. Successive High Waters, therefore, occur about
12.5 hours apart, and the interval between High Water and the next Low
Water is about 6.25 hours.
• Effects – a. tides can cause damage to property and life along the sea-
coast; b. rising tides may help the moving ships to reach the harbours in
many shallow seas; c. tides may be useful for ships to cover large parts
of their voyages without costing much; d. tides can be used for power
generation (for power generation, there should be at least 5 metre tidal
range); e. tides take away the waste lying at the harbours to make them
clean; f. tides may also take away the materials brought by rivers to their
mouths and hence prevent siltation of the estuary; g. tides are helpful
for fishing activity, especially by the small fishermen, who cannot afford
going far into the seas.
• When tides are studied mathematically in response to the laws of
physics, they are known as equilibrium tides. To simplify the study of
 relationships between the oceans and the moon and the sun, this
method uses tides on an Earth model covered with a uniform layer of
water.
• The tides are also studied as they occur naturally; these tides are called
dynamic tides. Oceanographers study dynamic tides modified by the
landmasses, the geometry of the ocean basins, and the earth’s rotation.
• When water moves into a coastal region on the rising tide and out of it
on the falling tide, tidal currents form. These currents may be extremely
swift and dangerous as they move through narrow channels into large
bays and harbours. When the tidal current changes from an ebb to a
flood or vice versa, there is a period of slack water, during which the
tidal currents slow, stop, and then reverse. Slack water may be the only
time that a vessel can safely navigate a narrow channel.

MOON

• The moon is the earth’s constant companion in space held by our

planet’s gravity. It revolves the earth in a slightly elliptical orbit - the
distance from the earth varying from 348285 km surface to surface
perigee to 398587 km apogee.
• The moon, like earth, is 4.6 billion years old. Moon shines by reflecting
light emitted by the sun.
• Near side and Far side – The moon spins on its axis in exactly the same
time that it takes to complete an orbit of the earth. The same side
always faces us and the far side remains invisible.
• The moon wobbles on its axis, and at some places on its orbit, it surges
forward or slows down. As a result, we can actually see, about 59% of
its surface from the earth.
• Moon revolves round the earth every 27 days 7 hours 43 minutes 15
seconds (Sidereal month).
• Moon moves from west to east in the sky but appears to move in the
opposite direction because earth’s rotation rate is much faster than the
rate at which the moon revolves around the earth.
• Phases of the Moon – As the moon orbits the earth, it receives light
from the sun, and a changing portion of its illuminated face is visible
from the earth, these portions are the moon’s phases. During the time
the moon takes to orbit the earth, we see it change from a skinny
crescent to a full globe and back again. These apparent changes are
referred to as the phases of the moon. The changes in aspect seen from
 the earth are due to changes in the relative positions of the earth,
moon, and the sun – the sequence being:
a. New Moon – Invisible to faintly visible, the moon lying between the
earth and the sun (Conjunction), so that viewed from the earth, it is not
illuminated by the sun’s light (although it may reflect a faint of light from
the earth).
b. The First Quarter (Quadrature) – When the moon has moved through
about one-quarter of its orbit round the earth, and it appears as a semi-
circle, having grown from a Crescent.
c. Gibbous Moon – The phase reached when the moon has passed
through another eighth of its orbit, so that three-quarters of its face as
seen from the earth is illuminated by the sun.
d. Full Moon – When the earth lies between the moon and the sun
(Opposition), so that viewed from the earth, the whole face of the moon
is illuminated by light from the sun.
• From New Moon to Full Moon, the moon is said to be waxing
(increasing); and from Full Moon to New Moon, it is waning
(decreasing). A waxing or waning moon, seems to bulge on the side
nearest the sun, so it is often called Gibbous.
• Lunar or Synodic Month – One revolution related to the sun on an
average 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes (that is the time it takes for moon
to go through all its phases (one Full Moon to the next).
• Syzgy – In astronomy, the point at which two heavenly bodies are in
conjunction or opposition – applied particularly, to the point, when the
sun, moon, and earth are in straight line (thus, coinciding with the New
Moon and Full Moon, as seen from the earth).