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How to Read the Tides in Florida

Since ancient times people have been studying the tides. Tidal observation was important because it affected ocean navigation, fishing and safety. Greek mariner Pytheas made the first known correlations between the tides and the moon in 325 BC. One of the first real-time mechanical tide gauges used in the United States was in 1850, where mariners could view a vertical arrow at a wooden station to tell whether the tide was low or high.

Things You'll Need

Tide table chart

Instructions

- 1
  Study the causes of tides. Tides are created by a constant gravitational pull from the sun and moon. The Earth can't grab onto water, so the moon is able to pull at it continuously, causing oceans to bend outwards like a magnet. Water levels fluctuate on a daily basis because of the interaction between the sun, moon and the Earth. Because the Earth and the moon are constantly rotating, two tides take place every day.
- 2
  Study tide tables and charts. Pick up a tide chart at most marinas or harbors, or check the Internet. (See Resources.) Tide tables show dates and times of sunrise, sunset, moonset, moonrise and the two high tides and low tides. Although the four daily tides are generally on a six-hour schedule, this is not always the case. Florida's Atlantic side experiences more semidiurnal tides, which are tides that have approximately the same height pattern each day. Florida's Gulf side has diurnal tides, which means they have one high tide and one low tide in a 24-hour period.
- 3
  Track the moon's phases. The moon is the most important factor in the force of tides. The moon revolves around the Earth, so this causes changes in the times for low and high tides by 50 minutes each day. When the moon's phase is at first or last quarter, the tides are weaker. These weaker tides are known as neap tides. Full moons and new moons cause spring tides. Spring tides are strong tides that occur when the sun, moon and Earth are aligned.

Nature