Ocean Movement - Waves and Tides

Ocean waves are the rhythmic rising and falling of ocean water due to wind or some other disturbing force. They are not a movement of water; instead, they are a movement of energy. No matter the wave type, waves share the basic anatomy that allows them to be measured by crest, trough, height, wavelength, period, and frequency.

Gravity causes another type of wave, called a tide. A tide is the periodic rise and fall of ocean water due to the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun, which causes bulges in the ocean's water on either side of Earth. During the spring tide and neap tide, the tide is higher or lower than normal. When the Sun, Earth, and Moon align twice a month, the spring tide causes a higher than normal high tide and a lower than normal low tide. When the Sun, Earth, and Moon are located at right angles to one another, neap tides occur with low tidal range. Each coastline of the world will experience one of the three main patterns of tides: diurnal, semidiurnal, or mixed tides.