| The moon and sun are not the only things that have an effect on the
tides. Things such as a land mass and depth of the water play a very important
role in how the tides are going to behave. It is for this reason that
it is not possible to predict the tides solely on the basis of data obtained
by observing the positions of the sun and moon. Observation at one location
in one general area over time is necessary in order to give an adequate
base for which to base predictions on. The same basic forces acting all
over the globe cause the tides, but in the cases of the oceans and even
bigger lakes, they are independent from one another. The tides in the
Atlantic are going to be different than those in the Pacific, mostly because
the North and South American continents are in the way. Also, meteorlogical
factors such as air pressure play a critical role in determining tidal
behavior (NOAA). |
