PEI Tidal Flats EarthCache
Hidden : 9/21/2011
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:


You can only approach the coordinates from the public trail as the surrounding land is private and the surrounding cliff edges are unstable.

The word “tides” is used to refer to a natural phenomenon that occurs when the moon uses its gravatational force (known as Tractive Force) to try to pull everything from Earth to the moon. Out of all the objects found on Earth, there is only the water on Earth that is continuously moving, therefore the moon cannot pull anything except for the water. Actually, water in large lakes, the air in the atmosphere, and magma within the Earth’s crust are always in motion as well, so tides can also be observed in these objects, but on a MUCH SMALLER scale. This gravatational force between the moon and the sun (when the moon pulls upward on the water and the Earth pulls downward) results in the sea level rising and falling continuously, also known as LUNAR TIDES.

On most days there are two low tides and two high tides. There is approximately 6 ¼ hours between a low tide and a high tide, therefore there would be approximately 12 ½ hours between two low tides or two high tides. I say “most days” because some days may actually only experience 1 ½ cycles, such as two low tides and one high tide, or two high tides and one low tide. (Figure 1)

For example, if, on Halloween, high tide occurs at 6:00am, low tide would occur at approximately 12:15pm, and high tide would occur again at approximately 6:30pm. If you’re keeping up on the math, then low tide would reoccur at 12:45am the next morning, thereby giving you only two high tides and one low tide on Halloween.

There are two major types of tides:

1. Spring Tides (Figure 2)

2. Neap Tides. (Figure 3)

Spring Tides have absolutely nothing to do with the Spring Season. During the Spring Tides (during full moon or new moon), the Earth, the Sun and the Moon are in a line, causing greater gravatational pull and much higher and lower tides.

Neap Tides occur during the First Quarter and Third Quarter phases of the moon, when the Moon and the Sun are at 90° to each other, relative to the Earth. Their “forces” cancel each other out, creating smaller tides.

Spring Tides and Neap Tides are about 20% higher or lower that the regular average tides.

There is also a third type of Lunar Tide called the PROXIGEAN SPRING TIDE (Figure 4). It occurs only every 1 ½ years when the moon is at its very closest to the Earth AND when it’s in its New Moon Phase. This causes unusually high tides.

WHAT ARE TIDAL FLATS?

Tidal flats are intertidal, non-vegetated, soft sediment habitats, found between mean high-water and mean low-water spring tide datum and are generally located in estuaries and other low energy marine environments. The sea-bound Tryon River creates this estuarine tidal mud flat. Tidal mud flats are distributed widely along coastlines of PEI, accumulating fine-grain sediments on gently slopping beds, forming the basic structure upon which coastal wetlands build. Although tidal flats comprise only about 7% of total coastal shelf areas, they are highly productive components of shelf ecosystems responsible for recycling organic matter and nutrients from both terrestrial and marine sources and are also areas of high primary productivity.

At the posted coordinates, low tides result in most of the water leaving the small bay, producing a tidal flat. When the sand and mud layers are exposed at the tidal fringe, mud flats result affording a unique ecotone that affords numerous shorebird species a safe feeding and resting habitat. The muds are also an important substrate for primary marsh productivity including eelgrass, cordgrass and pickleweed. Furthermore they are home to a large variety of molluscs and estuarine arthropods.

For more information, please visit (visit link) (information on tides in nearby Victoria).

REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS EARTHCACHE:

1. Visit the posted coordinates at HIGH TIDE and note the water level on the nearby beach rocks. Please record the date and time of the visit. [From the posted coordinates, walk down the "path" to Reference Point #1 and look to the right for the high tide measurement (this should be easily accessible except for very high tides).]

2. Return again at LOW TIDE and walk out to the water’s edge. [Walk seaward (right, from Reference Point #1)) out onto the flats, going right after a couple hundred meters for the low tide measurement.] Since this is a relatively flat area, the distance to the water’s egde can be long, but the tides don’t come in or out too fast. However, remember to be respectful of the tide change.

3. In your log, please include the date and time of both your visits (high and low tide), as well as the distance you walked from the posted coordinates to the water’s edge, and indicate the height of the tide you observed.

4. Check the calendar and moon phase of your visit and report what type of tide you observed. Describe the expected alignment of the Sun, Moon and Earth on the day of your visit and why you would have expected to see the type of tide you did.

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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