GeoMag

T I D A L L AY E R S

NIKHIL MEHTA

TIDAL LAYERS

Coast Dhylan Halai

tide with freedom of the open space of the quintessential humid shore. As I look forward to exploring the beaches of the world again, in the post-Covid era, I reflect on the beaches of Cuba, India and Thailand, that were amongst my fondest memories growing up. These beaches and their ecosystems are essential to the survival of our planet and as I continue to explore more beaches and experiencing the tidal activities I enjoy; I will do so with a view to protecting them for our future generations. It was saddening when seeing the effect of humans to Maya beach in Thailand, and I hope that the actions that have been taken will now protect the area’s coral reefs. The experience of the layers of tide at any point of day creates memories and feelings for everyone that last a lifetime, but we must ensure that this enjoyment comes with the care and consideration for our magnificent planet.

Tidal Layers Covid-19 has affected everyone in the world; schools were closed, work offices were closed, it was hard to catch a breath under our face masks and entire industries fell. The aviation industry took an incredibly hard hit as flights were cancelled and grounded with countries closing their borders. This meant that my family and I were prevented from taking a family break to enjoy the incredible beaches of Bali and Australia. Like everyone, we mourned the loss of the precious time. Post Covid, I wish to venture abroad and explore an exotic coastline. In preparation for this adventure, I thought I would dive into the geography behind tides and how they affect the constantly moving layers of a beach. Tides are formed by the Moon’s gravitational pull towards the Earth. As the Earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the sun, the moon orbits the Earth and attracts a gravitational pull. The side of Earth that directly faces the moon will have high tide. This tidal bulge is due to the gravity here being greater than the center of the Earth. High tide also occurs for the side that is facing away from the moon. This is due to the gravity being less than the center of the Earth. These tidal bulges rotate around the Earth as the Moon’s position changes. On Earth, the movement of low tide to high tide, that takes place every day, performs a transition of layers in the sea level. I cannot wait to experience the tide brushing against my bare feet as I stroll along the shoreline of a tropical country to view the breath-taking sunset. The Moon’s gravity is mostly responsible for our tides, but the Sun also plays a role. The Sun is much larger than the Moon. It has a mass of about 27,500,000 times greater than the Moon. A very large object like the Sun would produce tremendous tides if it were as near to Earth as the Moon. However, it is so far from the Earth that its effect on the tides is only about half as strong as the Moon’s. When both the Sun and Moon are aligned, the effect of each is added together, producing higher than normal tides called, spring tides. This makes for an even greater contrast in low tide to high tide, resulting in even more levels to the sea. Sandcastles, sunbathing and volleyball are but a few of the activities my family and I are so eager to partake in, during the peak of low

Waves Jenson Ives

Moon Max Frenzel

14 | Geographical Magazine • Merchant Taylors’ School

2021/22 Edition | 15