Cruisers & Sailing Forums - View Single Post - Unusual High Tides

GordMay · 25-06-2009, 05:10

Spring tides are especially strong tides (they do not have anything to do with the season Spring), that occur when the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are in a line. The gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun both contribute to the tides. Spring tides occur during the full moon and the new moon.

The Proxigean Spring Tide is a rare, unusually high tide, which occurs when the moon is both unusually close to the Earth (at its closest perigee, called the proxigee) and in the New Moon phase (when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth). The proxigean spring tide occurs at most once every 1.5 years.

We had a new moon on June 22/09.

Because of the complex dynamics of the Earth's oceans, their inertia, friction with the ocean floor, internal viscosity and the distribution of the continents, the maximum tides do not always coincide with the optimal times of proxigee.

25-06-2009, 05:10	#2
GordMay Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario - 48-29N x 89-20W Boat: C.L.O.D. (Cruiser Living On Dirt) Posts: 12,582	Spring tides are especially strong tides (they do not have anything to do with the season Spring), that occur when the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are in a line. The gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun both contribute to the tides. Spring tides occur during the full moon and the new moon. The Proxigean Spring Tide is a rare, unusually high tide, which occurs when the moon is both unusually close to the Earth (at its closest perigee, called the proxigee) and in the New Moon phase (when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth). The proxigean spring tide occurs at most once every 1.5 years. We had a new moon on June 22/09. Because of the complex dynamics of the Earth's oceans, their inertia, friction with the ocean floor, internal viscosity and the distribution of the continents, the maximum tides do not always coincide with the optimal times of proxigee. __________________ Gord May ~~_/)_~~ (Gord & Maggie - "Southbound") "If you didn't have time/$ to do it right in the first place, when will you get the time/$ to fix it?"