Tideline
Encyclopedia
A tideline refers to where two currents
in the ocean
converge. Driftwood, floating seaweed, foam, and other floating debris may accumulate, forming sinuous lines called tidelines (even though they generally have nothing to do with the tide
.)
There are four mechanisms that can cause tidelines to form:
Ocean current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the forces acting upon this mean flow, such as breaking waves, wind, Coriolis effect, cabbeling, temperature and salinity differences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun...
in the ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
converge. Driftwood, floating seaweed, foam, and other floating debris may accumulate, forming sinuous lines called tidelines (even though they generally have nothing to do with the tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
.)
There are four mechanisms that can cause tidelines to form:
- Where one body of water is sinking beneath or riding over top of the surface layer of another body of water (somewhat similar in mechanics to subduction of the earth plates at continental margins). These types of tidelines are often found where rivers enter the ocean.
- Along the margins of back-eddies.
- Convergence zones associated with internal gravity waves.
- Along adjacent cells formed by wind currents.