Tides & Moon Phases

This week, since the first full moon of the summer season was on June 9th, was to focus on moon phases, tides, and currents. The force of tides are result of the gravitational attraction between the sun, the moon, and the earth, where the earth’s surfaces are pulled towards the two. Since ocean waters are flexible, their movement is a result. Since the sun is much further away to the earth than the moon, its tide generating forces are about half the strength. As the moon rotates around the Earth, its force creates tidal bulges, where the water underneath the moon’s position is pulled towards it (moving across the Earth’s surface beneath the moon). Along the opposite side of the Earth, a second bulge is created through centrifugal (moving outward from the center) force. High tides occur when the bulge hits land, and low tides occur between bulges.

Different moon phases cause different tide patterns, for example, when there is either a new or full moon, forces of the moon and sun are combined since the tidal bulges are align, and create one large bulge. During these periods, known as spring tides, we see the highest high tides and lowest low tides. While the moon is in its quarter phases, the sun’s forces work at a right angle to the moon, causing each of their bulges to cancel out. The result, is known as neap tide, where there is little difference between high and low tides.

Corrie, my boss at Pond and Beyond Kayaks, runs full moon kayak tours, where she explains this information and its importance in ocean life and boating; on June 9th and 10th we witnessed her tour and learned the information above. During and after the tour, it was amazing to see how not only the kids, but the adults looked at the sky and oceans different. When we followed lessons of the tides and moon phases with how higher and lower tides and sea level differentiations we will see in the future are so fragile to change and have such a great effect on all surrounding ecosystems, especially islands like Block Island, they began to fire questions about how they could get involved and learn more about all of the subjects around oceans, conservation, etc. The tour not only taught me about tides, moon phases, currents, and waves, but about how important and easy networking through this job was going to be.

So far, I have of course learned more and more about oceanic (Block Island specially) ecosystems and life, but have gotten connected with and learned through customers and Block Island Marine Institute (our neighboring business) other individuals and organizations who have a common goal of preservation and conversation of our environment from all different spectrums and angles. Networking like this reminds me of how much my minor in International Nongovernmental Organizations and social entrepreneurship will come into play when trying to make environmental changes and awareness on a larger scale with more individuals and connections on board.