Together, these interactions form a pressure on seawater that generally directs it away from the poles and toward the equator, where it's just strong enough to fight gravity to form two bulges: the high tides. Those on the face of Earth closest to the moon experience the strongest force toward the moon, and those on the opposite side of Earth feel the weakest acceleration. Molecules of water near the poles are forced mostly straight down by Earth's gravity. Because ocean water covers about 71% of Earth's surface and connects as one liquid body, however, all of those tiny forces add up to form a significant pressure - what we call the tidal force. But alone, that gravitational acceleration is so weak it isn't noticeable. It's really the interplay of gravity among the moon, Earth, and the sun that creates a tidal force - and it's more of a squeeze than a pull.Įach molecule of water is pulled by the moon's gravity. The moon does affect ocean water, but that force at any one point is about 1/10,000,000th Earth's gravity. This is only partly true, as the science behind Earth's ocean tides is anything but straightforward. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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