The Tide is High

It’s never really a bad day to take a walk along the side of the Pacific Ocean. But some days—like those characterized by big, wild storm waves, or, in this case, the arrival of the King Tides - are especially spectacular. King Tides (this is not a scientific term) are regular, seasonal higher-than-normal high tides (and corresponding lower-than-normal low tides) caused when there is an alignment of the gravitational pull between the sun, moon and Earth. There are typically three King Tides in a year, taking place on the new moon or full moon in December, January or February. This year’s first King Tides took place Dec. 4 and 5 - they happen again Jan 1-3.

King Tides are a cool natural phenomenon and a great opportunity (at the low tide end) to do some tidepooling and beach-walking. During high tide, they’re widely considered to be a way to get a glimpse into the future of climate-change caused sea level rise. You see, as sea level rise encroaches on our coast, regular, everyday high tides will start to impact coastal infrastructure more similarly to how King Tides do today.

In this context, the California King Tides Project, a partnership run by the California Coastal Commission, works at each King Tide occurrence to get citizen scientists involved in envisioning this future—by taking and sharing photos of coastal landmarks during the King Tide. If you’d like to participate, this week brings three opportunities to do so. All you need to do is head to the coast, snap some photos and share what you see. [TCL]

For more information about how to participate in the King Tides Project, visit coastal.ca.gov/kingtides/learn.html.