UCSB Science Line
Sponge Spicules Nerve Cells Galaxy Abalone Shell Nickel Succinate X-ray Lens Lupine
UCSB Science Line
Home
How it Works
Ask a Question
Search Topics
Webcasts
Our Scientists
Science Links
Contact Information
Why is it that the there are no tides in the Mediterranean sea ?
Question Date: 2005-10-16
Answer 1:

The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. The Mediterranean sea does have tides, but they are are very limited as a result of the narrow outlet/inlet with the Atlantic ocean. Their amplitude is very low, averaging a few centimeters, (instead of 1 meter of so in the Atlantic ocean). Tides are very complicated in their details. If the Earth and Moon were both perfectly spherical and the Earth was covered by an ocean of a constant depth, then everywhere the tides would have the same amplitude. However, the Earth has continents and islands and the oceans vary greatly in their depths. All of these things affect the amplitude of the tides seen in a given spot.



Click Here to return to the search form.

University of California, Santa Barbara Materials Research Laboratory National Science Foundation
This program is co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and UCSB School-University Partnerships
Copyright © 2020 The Regents of the University of California,
All Rights Reserved.
UCSB Terms of Use