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LINAFI

Level-1

Lecture Notes

November 2024

A-Overview of the course


The attraction of the SUN and the MOON on the EARTH causes a back and forth movement
of the mass of water at a given location.
For a certain time, in this place, the water level rises. This movement of rising water is
called FLOW TIDE or FLOOD TIDE .
After reaching a certain level, the water no longer rises. The level reached by the water at
that moment is called HIGH WATER (or HIGH TIDE).
The high water last for a while (about 15 minutes at the port of Douala). The state of non-
movement during which high water last is called SLACK WATER or SLACK TIDE.
Then the level begins to drop. The movement of falling water level is called the EBB TIDE
or FALLING TIDE.
The level drop lasts for a while and then stops. The water then reached LOW WATER or
LOW TIDE level.
The state of non-movement during the low water period (around 15 minutes at the port of
Douala) is called SLACK WATER or SLACK TIDE.
.. And the level starts to rise again…
The sinusoidal movement of the rise and fall of the water level continues in perpetuity.
High tide and low tide appear twice a day. We then speak of semi-diurnal tide.
In one day (24 hours), the movement of the tide can be illustrated by the diagrams below.
B-Characteristics of the tides
The tidal range
This is the difference between the height of HIGH WATER and the height of LOW
WATER Les Caractéristiques de la marées

Tidal=height HW-height LW

Tide hour
It is the time elapsed between the HW and LW, or between the LW and the HW divided
by 6.

Tide hour= (HW time-LW time)/6-> or<-(LW time-HW time)/6

Tidal Coefficient
It is a unitless number between 20 and 120, often given in tide forecast tables. It is
calculated by specialized hydrographic services.
It allows you to know for a given day in a given place, the importance of the tide, that is
to say whether the tidal range will be significant or not. Knowing whether the tide range
will be big or small helps predict sea-related activities, such as fishing, water sports, etc.
The most important tides (coefficient 100 and more) are the equinox tides, also called
spring tides, especially when the moon, the earth and the sun are aligned (THEY SAY
THAT THEY ARE IN CONJUNCTION). This takes place at the new moon, when the moon
is between the earth and the sun, or at the full moon, when the earth is between the
moon and the sun.
The least important tides, neap tides (coefficients 40 going down), take place when the
moon and the sun are in quadrature, that is to say at a right angle (90°) to the earth.
The solar attraction is deducted from the lunar attraction.
The tidal coefficient therefore does not participate in a method of calculating of the water
height, but gives an idea of the importance of the tidal range.
The coefficient 20 corresponds to a very low tidal range (neap tides) and the coefficient
120 corresponds to a very high tidal range (spring tides).

Fig.1
The diagram in fig.1 represents one or the other case of tide in a day. The day can start
with a High Tide (fig.A) or with a low Tide (fig.B)

Fig.2 : Visualization of a semi-diurnal tide in one day (24 hours)

Calculation of the water height at a given location and at a given time.


Among the methods that exist, we will adopt 2.
A-1st : Method of twelfths

Fig.3 Example covered in class through exercises .


B-2nd : ½ circle method

Fig.4 : Example covered in class through exercises .


Equinox tides
Tide prediction tables
There are tide tables for all ports in the world where the tide phenomenon exists.
But more and more we are using graphs on which we can directly measure the height of
the water and the corresponding time. On a screen, a cursor can indicate the water
height at any time.
Tide table or graph for a week in the port of Douala

Tide table or graph for a week in the port of Tiko


Tide table or graph for a week from the port of Limbe

Table or graph of tides for a week in the mouth of Bimbia River

Tide table or graph for one week in the port of Malabo (formerly Santa Isabel)

Captain Evariste DZO (C1NM)


Capitaine de 1ère Classe de la Navigation Maritime

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