Book Description

Did you know that the size of the full moon in the night sky is determined by how the continents have been arranged on Earth throughout its history? This is indeed the case, because the tides are largely controlled by the size of the ocean basins, and ocean basins open, close, and change shape as the Earth's tectonic plates move around. So, the tides are intertwined and controlled by plate tectonics. There are of course many other processes that drive and modify the tides, and A Journey Through Tides describes why there is a tide, how it has changed since Earth's early days, and what consequences the tides, and changes in the tides, have on other parts of the Earth system. A Journey Through Tides is a fully comprehensive text covering the history of tides. It brings together geology and oceanography and discusses, in detail, the new ideas that have emerged about how tectonics and tides interact. It also provides an overview of Earth's history, from the perspective of tidal changes, and highlights other fascinating phenomena (e.g., solid Earth tides and links between tides and earthquakes). The first part of the volume consists of an up-to-date introduction to tides for oceanography students as well as scientists from other disciplines who want to know the basics about tides. Part two is particularly valuable for scientists and post-graduate students studying the Earth's deep time processes. The last part consists of several case studies of specific topics/processes that may apply to a variety of disciplines such as biology, astrobiology, planetary geology, seismology, among others.