Tag: circulation of ocean water

Very high tide is caused when the sun, the moon and the earth are almost in the same line. Such high tides are called spring tides. During new moon and full moon the gravitational forces of sun and the moon work together with combined force and thus this spring tide occurs. 

On an average, every place experiences high and low tide a day at an time interval of 12 hours 25 minutes. Since the earth completes its rotation in roughly 24 hours, every place should experience tide after 12 hours but this never happens. Each day tide delayed by 25 minutes because the moon also rotates on its axis while revolving around the earth. 

The rise and fall of sea water due to gravitational forces of the sun and the moon are called tides. In fact, tides are the most uniformly varying phenomenon in the ocean. 

Wave Crest is the point on a wave with the maximum value of upward displacement within a cycle. A crest is a point on a surface wave where the displacement of the medium is at a maximum.

A trough is the minimum or lowest point of the value of displacement within a cycle. 

Wavelength is the distance between one crest or trough to the next crest or trough. It is the distance between identical points in the adjacent cycles if a waveform signal propagated in space or along a wire.

Wave height is the distance between the crest and trough. The wave height of a surface wave is the difference between the elevations of a crest and a neighboring trough. Wave height is a term used by mariners, as well as in coastal, ocean and naval engineering.