page_title: Physical oceanography
section_title: Tides
hierarchical_section_title: Physical oceanography / Rapid variations / Tides
caption_attribution_description: English: Bay of Fundy © 2004 Matthew Trump based on NASA image in public domain
context_page_description: Physical oceanography is the study of physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean, especially the motions and physical properties of ocean waters.
  Physical oceanography is one of several sub-domains into which oceanography is divided. Others include biological, chemical and geological oceanography.
  Physical oceanography may be subdivided into descriptive and dynamical physical oceanography.
  Descriptive physical oceanography seeks to research the ocean through observations and complex numerical models, which describe the fluid motions as precisely as possible.
  Dynamical physical oceanography focuses primarily upon the processes that govern the motion of fluids with emphasis upon theoretical research and numerical models. These are part of the large field of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics that is shared together with meteorology. GFD is a sub field of Fluid dynamics describing flows occurring on spatial and temporal scales that are greatly influenced by the Coriolis force.
context_section_description: The rise and fall of the oceans due to tidal effects is a key influence upon the coastal areas. Ocean tides on the planet Earth are created by the gravitational effects of the Sun and Moon. The tides produced by these two bodies are roughly comparable in magnitude, but the orbital motion of the Moon results in tidal patterns that vary over the course of a month.
  The ebb and flow of the tides produce a cyclical current along the coast, and the strength of this current can be quite dramatic along narrow estuaries. Incoming tides can also produce a tidal bore along a river or narrow bay as the water flow against the current results in a wave on the surface.
  Tide and Current (Wyban 1992) clearly illustrates the impact of these natural cycles on the lifestyle and livelihood of Native Hawaiians tending coastal fishponds. Aia ke ola ka hana meaning . . . Life is in labor.
  Tidal resonance occurs in the Bay of Fundy since the time it takes for a large wave to travel from the mouth of the bay to the opposite end, then reflect and travel back to the mouth of the bay coincides with the tidal rhythm producing the world's highest tides.
  As the surface tide oscillates over topography, such as submerged seamounts or ridges, it generates internal waves at the tidal frequency, which are known as internal tides.
caption: The Bay of Fundy is a bay located on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
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