Been trying to learn about the tides around here so I can tell what I'm seeing on the water. Imagine my joy when I found a Casio, which I collect, with tide and moon phase indicators!

And that's when I learned the Gulf Coast is strange, has diurnal tides (twice a day) the watch can't predict. Took me an hour and a half to figure out it would never function. The moon phase works!

[–] infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net 56 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Huh. TIL that there are three common types of tidal cycles and which one you get depends on geography, location, ocean currents. https://beltoforion.de/en/tides/tidal_cycles.php

And yeah, dinural is apparently the most rare of the three. Wild.

[–] Successful_Try543@feddit.org 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Thanks. I didn't know either that there are places, where the sea level does not rise and fall twice a day.

[–] MarieMarion@literature.cafe 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I was reading Circe, by Madeline Miller, and on several pages some ancient Greeks wait for the tide to sail away, or watch the sea rising while waiting for Odysseus, and so on. Like, woman, did nobody notice at your publishing house?

[–] Wiz@midwest.social 4 points 10 months ago

Me, too, TIL!

[–] Deebster@infosec.pub 15 points 10 months ago (3 children)

the Gulf Coast is strange, has diurnal tides (twice a day)

Diurnal tides are once a day (semidiurnal is twice a day). By the Gulf Coast, I guess you must mean the Gulf of Mexico. I'm living on the other side of the world in the other diurnal region, so I assume our tides are synchronised!

[–] Tja@programming.dev 7 points 10 months ago

Gulf of America, you extreme left Antifa socialist!!1!one

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

No idea how I got that backwards. I even looked it up before posting!

[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 3 points 10 months ago

Diurnal bros! Theres's dozens of us!

[–] antlion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Tidal prediction requires a harmonic analysis of observed tides, and its location specific. Not sure how a watch is supposed to do that other than holding a database of tidal coefficients.

This video contains a lot of interesting history of tidal analysis and prediction:

https://youtu.be/IgF3OX8nT0w

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 17 points 10 months ago

There are adjustments you can make on the watch. Requires tables and whatnot. That's why it took me so long to figure out it wouldn't work!

[–] ThatGuy46475@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Tides go in, tides go out, you can’t explain that.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

Casio can't!

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 4 points 10 months ago

Now if you want strange tides look at Southampton. Not very big tides given its in the middle of the channel but the graph is an interesting one to look at.