What are influence of tides?

Tides are the Earth’s oceans breathing in and out, pushing water toward the land and pulling it back like a giant, slow heartbeat.

Imagine the Moon is a playful friend holding onto your shirt. As the Moon orbits our planet, its gravity pulls on the water in the ocean because water is squishy and mobile, unlike the solid ground you walk on. This pull creates a bulge of water that sticks out toward the Moon, just like a lump forms when you squeeze a balloon. At the same time, the Earth is spinning, so different parts of the coast move in and out of these bulges, causing the water level to rise and fall daily.

The Sun also helps with this tugging game, though it is much farther away than the Moon. Think of the Moon as a little kid pulling your sleeve while a strong adult (the Sun) holds your other hand but from across the room. When the Moon and Sun line up together during full or new moons, they pull in the same direction. This creates spring tides, which are extra high and extra low, like when you stretch your arms wide.

When the Sun pulls from a different angle than the Moon, it fights back a little bit against the Moon’s pull. This creates neap tides, where the difference between high and low water is smaller, more like a gentle, normal breath. So, every day, you can watch the beach get bigger or smaller as these cosmic tug-of-wars decide how much sand is revealed for your toys.

The Moon’s gravity stretches the ocean just enough to make it feel heavy and high, even though the sky looks calm above us.