航海英语航海英语20Tides,Waves,andCurrents.pdfVIP

ENERGY IN THE OCEAN 2020 Tides,Waves,andCurrents When you have finished this chapter, you should be able to: EXPLAIN the forces that cause the different kinds of tides. DISCUSS the effects of changing tides on marine organisms. DESCRIBE wave characteristics and different types of waves. DISCUSS the causes, and importance, of ocean currents. The ocean is always in motion. Massive currents of water circulate 20.1 around the globe. Waves crash on the beach. Seawater is pushed and The Tides pulled by the tides. What makes the ocean water move so much? The tides, waves, 20.2 and currents result from the interaction of many forces and factors, Ocean Waves such as conditions in Earth’s atmosphere, the movement of our planet 20.3 in space, and even Earth’s interactions with other bodies in our solar Ocean Currents system. In this chapter, you will learn about tides, waves, and cur- rents; and you will see the strong effect they have on life in marine and coastal environments. 485 20.1 THE TIDES Did you ever go to the beach on a hot day, drop your towel on the sand near the shore, and run into the water for a cool dip? Then, after swimming for a while, you returned to your towel and found it soaked with seawater. What happened? While you were in the water, you did not realize that the tide was coming in. The tide is the daily rise and fall of the ocean as seen along the shore. When the ocean reaches its highest elevation on the shore, it is called high tide. The lowest elevation reached by