Okay, so they say there is no such thing as a dumb question but this one is making me feel dumb. When it’s high tide, does the depth of the water get deeper, shallower or stay the same? In my mind the deepest point would always stay the same but please explain this to me as simply as possible? Thanks! 👌
In: Physics
The bottom of the ocean is practically fixed. At high tide, there is more water, and the depth at any point is higher.
Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon. It literally pulls all the water on earth towards it.
So when the moon is above you the water gets pulled towards that point and the tide rises.
You would think this would mean low tides on the other side of the Earth however the moons gravity actually pulls the earth as well. So not only is more water pulled to the side closest to the moon but the entire earth is pulled away from the water on the other side of the earth.
[Here is a nice graphic](https://i.imgur.com/e4Ig5dU.jpg)
The water on the other side of the earth is pulled towards the moon but because it’s so far away the effect is smaller. That’s why we see a high high tide and a low high tide.
So we end up with two high tides and two low tides. This is always happening so constantly the depth of water is changing around the world.
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