Diurnal tide
Topic: Movements of Ocean Water: Waves, Tides and Currents · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 13 "Movements of Ocean Water"
Meaning
A diurnal tide is a pattern with only one high tide and one low tide each day. "Diurnal" means "daily". Each high tide is about the same height as the one before it, and the same is true of the low tides. This pattern is less common than the semi-diurnal tide, which has two highs and two lows a day. The shape of the coast and the sea floor decides which pattern a place gets.
Example
Parts of the Gulf of Mexico, off the southern coast of the United States, have diurnal tides. The sea rises once and falls once in about a day.
Don't confuse with
- Semi-diurnal tide: two high and two low tides each day. It is the most common pattern and the one found along most of India's coast.
- Mixed tide: the heights of one tide and the next differ sharply. A diurnal tide has one high a day, and each day's high is about as tall as the last.