Lunitidal interval

The lunitidal interval,^[1] measures the time lag from the moon passing overhead, to the next high or low tide. It is also called the high water interval (HWI).^[2][3] Sometimes a term is not used for the time lag, but instead the terms age of the tide or the establishment of the tide are used for the entry that is in the tidal tables.^[4]

Tides are known to be mainly caused by the moon's gravity. Theoretically, peak tidal forces at a given location occur when the moon is at the meridian, but there is usually a delay before high tide that depends largely on the shape of the coastline, and the sea floor, therefore, the lunitidal interval varies from place to place. It varies from 3% over deep oceans to 8 hours at New York harbour.^[5] The lunitidal interval further varies within about +/- 30 minutes according to the lunar phase. (This is caused by the time interval associated with the solar tides.)

Hundreds of factors are involved in the lunitidal interval, especially near shorelines. However, if you are far enough away from the coast, the dominating consideration is the speed of gravity waves, which increases with the depth of the ocean. (It is proportional to the square root of the depth, for the extremely long gravity waves that transport the water that is following the moon around the earth. The oceans are about 4 km deep and would have to be at least 22 km deep for these waves to keep up with the moon.^[6] As mentioned above, a similar time lag accompanies the solar tides, a complicating factor that varies with the phases of the moon.) By observing the age of leap tides, it becomes clear that the delay can actually exceed 24 hours in some locations.

The approximate lunitidal interval can be calculated if the moon-rise, moon-set and high tide times are known for a location. In the northern hemisphere, the moon is at its highest point when it is southernmost in the sky. Lunar data are available from printed tables and online. Tide tables tell the time of the next high water.^[7][8] The difference between these two times is the lunitidal interval. This value can be used to calibrate certain clocks and wristwatches to allow for simple but crude tidal predictions.

See also

• Phase (waves)
• Tide clock

References

Physical oceanography
Waves	Airy wave theory Ballantine scale Benjamin–Feir instability Boussinesq approximation Breaking wave Clapotis Cnoidal wave Cross sea Dispersion Edge wave Equatorial waves Fetch Gravity wave Green's law Infragravity wave Internal wave Kelvin wave Kinematic wave Longshore drift Luke's variational principle Mild-slope equation Radiation stress Rogue wave Rossby wave Rossby-gravity waves Sea state Seiche Significant wave height Sneaker wave Soliton Stokes boundary layer Stokes drift Stokes wave Swell Trochoidal wave Tsunami megatsunami Undertow Ursell number Wave action Wave base Wave height Wave power Wave radar Wave setup Wave shoaling Wave turbulence Wave–current interaction Waves and shallow water one-dimensional Saint-Venant equations shallow water equations Wind wave model
Circulation	Atmospheric circulation Baroclinity Boundary current Coriolis effect Downwelling Eddy Ekman layer Ekman spiral Ekman transport El Niño Southern Oscillation General Circulation Model Geostrophic current Global Ocean Data Analysis Project Gulf Stream Halothermal circulation Humboldt Current Hydrothermal circulation Langmuir circulation Longshore drift Loop Current Maelstrom Modular ocean model Ocean dynamics Ocean gyre Princeton ocean model Rip current Subsurface currents Sverdrup balance Thermohaline circulation shutdown Upwelling Whirlpool World Ocean Circulation Experiment
Tides	Amphidromic point Earth tide Head of tide Internal tide Lunitidal interval Perigean spring tide Rip tide Rule of twelfths Slack water Tidal bore Tidal force Tidal power Tidal race Tidal range Tidal resonance Tide gauge Tideline
Landforms	Abyssal fan Abyssal plain Atoll Bathymetric chart Coastal geography Cold seep Continental margin Continental rise Continental shelf Contourite Guyot Hydrography Oceanic basin Oceanic plateau Oceanic trench Passive margin Seabed Seamount Submarine canyon Submarine volcano
Plate tectonics	Convergent boundary Divergent boundary Fracture zone Hydrothermal vent Marine geology Mid-ocean ridge Mohorovičić discontinuity Vine–Matthews–Morley hypothesis Oceanic crust Outer trench swell Ridge push Seafloor spreading Slab pull Slab suction Slab window Subduction Transform fault Volcanic arc
Ocean zones	Benthic Deep ocean water Deep sea Littoral Mesopelagic Oceanic Pelagic Photic Surf Swash
Sea level	Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis Future sea level Global Sea Level Observing System North West Shelf Operational Oceanographic System Sea-level curve Sea level rise World Geodetic System
Acoustics	Deep scattering layer Hydroacoustics Ocean acoustic tomography Sofar bomb SOFAR channel Underwater acoustics
Satellites	Jason-1 Jason-2 (Ocean Surface Topography Mission) Jason-3
Related	Argo Benthic lander Color of water DSV Alvin Marginal sea Marine energy Marine pollution Mooring National Oceanographic Data Center Ocean Ocean exploration Ocean observations Ocean reanalysis Ocean surface topography Ocean thermal energy conversion Oceanography Pelagic sediment Sea surface microlayer Sea surface temperature Seawater Science On a Sphere Thermocline Underwater glider Water column World Ocean Atlas
Category Commons