User:Gracehall27/Rip Tides

What is a Rip Tide?

A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong, offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal flow of water within estuaries and other enclosed tidal areas. The riptides become the strongest where the flow is constricted. When there is a falling or ebbing tide, the outflow water is strongly flowing through an inlet toward the sea, especially once stabilized by jetties. The "tidal range" or the vertical and horizontal aspects of tide, follow a cycle according to the moon and the sun. When the tide moves away from the shore and lowers vertically, this is called the eeb current which is also known as low tide. When the tide moves toward the shore and moves up vertically, this is called a flood current or high tide. The tidal range is "the difference in height between the high tide and the low tide." The tidal current is "a horizontal movement of water often accompanies the rising and falling of the tide." The flood current is "the incoming tide along the coast and into the bays and estuaries." When in the ocean, it is crucial to learn how the tides work in order to stay safe. The strongest currents most commonly occur in the beginning or during high tide and low tide. The slack tides, or the weakest currents occur between high and low tide, usually while they are switching from one to the other. Ocean tides tend to be more intense near inlets, or narrow entrances or exits for water where it can rip through at aggressive speeds. Out further in the ocean, although there are strong currents, rip tides tend to be more aggressive near the shore.

As referred to by many, the Rip current that we see warnings about at the beach and along public swimming access actually differs in meaning from Rip tide. These signs are posted along beaches to teach swimmers how to escape a rip current.

What is the difference between Rip Tides, Rip Currents, and Undertows?

There is often a common misconception between riptides and rip currents. People that spend their life in the ocean do not know the difference between the two. Web archive explains that rip currents are "strong, narrow jets of water that move away from the beach and into the ocean." Rip currents tend to flow at around 5mph and are extremely unpredictable. Rip tides in contrast are caused by the moons gravitational pull . Rip tides are predictable and studied by costal scientists. Because of its predictability, around public swimming beaches, lifeguards and the beach staff usually post what time the tides are going to happen at. Although undertows are not commonly discussed, they are arguably the most dangerous of the three because undertows pull people to the bottom of the ocean. This is also a common misconception when it comes to Rip Tides because when the public hears of tragedies that involve someone drowning, they automatically blame rip tides where the issue actually lies with rip currents and undertows. This false impression is deceiving to everyone, but especially harmful to inexperienced swimmers who do not understand these three differences.

See Also

• Rip current
• Ocean current
• Jetty
• Tidal range
• Undertow (water waves)

Sources

• Jamie H. MacMahan, Ed B. Thornton, Ad J.H.M. Reniers, 2006, Rip current review, Coastal Engineering, Volume 53, Issues 2–3,Pages 191-208, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2005.10.009. (Link to article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378383905001353)