Description
Book SynopsisFinally, someone has written a comprehensive, easily readable explanation of the tides on earth that is both simple enough for students and solid enough for their professors. Step by step, by analogy and illustration, Beyond the Moon describes how the cyclical motion of the near solar system is impressed upon the earth's oceans, and how the hydraulics over the continental shelf and the geography of the coastline orchestrate this rhythm into the bewildering variety of tide patterns seen around the globe. This volume demystifies the complexity of the tides by systematically examining its many constituents and demonstrates that: “Nature is, at once, awesome in complexity and beautiful in simplicity.”
Trade Review"McCully's dissection of the sciences eases the journey and his prose is very readable, even literary at times ... Helpful graphics, both line drawings and color illustrations, make the journey smooth. But it's McCully's knowledge of the subject and writing skills that make it a fun ride." David Lambert On Water Media "This very readable treatise on ocean tides and how they operate should appeal to anyone who has watched the rise and fall of the ocean along the coast. Though the lack of mathematical treatment of tide might offend the scientific purists, the material enables the reader to explain how tides work to her or his seatmate on an airplane. Even oceanographers are hard pressed to explain correctly why daily there are two high and two low ocean tides. The historical quotes are wonderful and the illustrations are illuminating. I recommend the book to anyone who might be called upon to explain ocean tides to students or the public. Dr. Arden Bement (Director of the National Science Foundation) recently stated '... there has been little dialogue between them (scientists) and the larger public.'. It is possible that this little book will help close that gap between the science community and the public." Thomas C Royer Slover Professor of Oceanography at Old Dominion University and Professor Emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks "It will enrich your time on the oceans and maybe even help you catch a few more fish." Saltwater Fishing
Table of ContentsThe Tides in History. The Challenge of Understanding the Tides on Earth; The Lunar Orbit; Solar Influences and Solar-Lunar Interaction. Gravitation and Tractal Forces; Celestial Harmonics; The Coriolis Force and Oceanic Amphidromes. Coastal Kelvin Waves. Tidal Currents. Sea Level; The Seiche Effect and Basins of Oscillation. Tidal Intermixing; Coastal Geography and Near Shore Topography, Resonant Co-Oscillation and Sustained Forcing; Shallow Estuaries and Tidal Pumping. Tidal Bores; The Computation of the Tide-Tables. Chaos Theory; The Weather and the Tides. Atmospheric Tides; Tidal Influence on Marine Biology. The Tides and Saltwater Fishing. Practical Tide-Table Information for Coastal Boaters; The Constituents of the Tides on Earth. Synopsis of Tidal Influences; Epilogue; Definitions.
