voice

The wind creates waves by causing friction with the water. Tides, on the other hand, are caused by gravitational pulls from the moon and sun. Waves can occur without tides. Spring tides occur when the moon, earth, and sun are aligned, resulting in the highest and lowest tides. Neap tides occur when they are perpendicular, creating calm tides. Next year's trip to the beach might include learning about jetties and man-made dunes. There's a salty smell in the air. You hear the waves crashing and kids running around having fun. It is a windy day at the beach and the sun is shining. The waves become more frequent. It is a great day to jump in the waves. The breeze pushes your hair back, but that is not the only thing the wind will push. Waves are created due to the friction between wind and the water. But what about the tides? Without tides we won't have waves, right? Usually we think waves and tides are the same thing, or at least have some sort of relationship with each other. Waves can happen without tides, as tides are due to gravity and not friction. Gravitational pulls from the moon and sun affect how our tides will come, whether it's spring or neat tides. The spring tides happen when the moon, earth and sun are all aligned. This gives us the most intense tides, which are the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. Our neat tides are when the moon, earth and sun are perpendicular. These are the more calm tides. Maybe next year's trip to the beach will be a lesson about the jetties and the man-made dunes.