A foot of water can make or break a King Tide

By Hugh Shipman, Puget Sound coastal geologist, Shorelands program

King Tides are overtaking a shoreline near you

Help scientists track and document King Tides this year! The King Tides Photo Initiative, which is going on now, is aimed at getting people to take photographs during unusually high tides and share them.

Tracking King Tides shows us how future sea level, which is expected to rise significantly during the coming decades, will impact our coastal communities. The projected sea level rise, caused by climate change, will make the extreme high tides we’re chasing now become increasingly common.

Find predicted King Tides
near you to participate!

“King Tides” are defined as the highest tides of the year. In Washington, these phenomenal tides usually occur in December and January. While we work hard to predict the true King Tides; sometimes those on the schedule turn out not to be the highest tides of the winter, even if they are very high tides. Let’s find out why…

Many things make King Tides hard to catch 

Some of you may have tried to help us document King Tides this year and had the experience of being a bit underwhelmed by the high tide you observed. It can be disappointing to go out at the crack of dawn on a day with a projected King Tide, only to see the same ol’ high tide you’re used to seeing. Then, it can be extra upsetting to see news of a truly spectacular high tide a week later when you weren’t expecting one at all.

What’s going on? King Tides can be tricky to predict and catch. The highest tides of the year may not necessarily occur when we expect them. This is particularly true this winter as the strong El Niño is raising water levels, and making King Tides difficult to pinpoint.

Although we have long been able to make very precise predictions of future tides, these are based on the position of the earth relative to the sun and moon, and do not reflect contributions from the ocean or weather. Factors such as wind storms, atmospheric pressure and ocean conditions are very difficult to predict far in advance, and can significantly influence water levels. Who in Washington hasn’t experienced our weather forecast changing drastically from day to day—or even minute to minute?! These same factors can throw a wrench into King Tide predictions by producing water levels that are a foot lower or higher than expected.

Grab your camera and snap a King Tide

By Camille St. Onge, Department of Ecology, Shorelands & Environmental Assistance and Air Quality Programs, and Jamie Mooney, Washington Sea Grant

The Washington King Tides Initiative, a collaborative effort between the Washington Department of Ecology and Washington Sea Grant, needs your help documenting King Tides along Washington’s shores. Pictures of King Tides offer a record of the changes to our coasts and shorelines. It’s a glimpse of what our daily tides may look like in the future as a result of sea level rise.

So, grab your camera and head out to the Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca, or Pacific Coast to photograph the highest seasonal tides.

What is a King Tide?

King Tides are the highest tides of the year. Washington’s King Tides usually occur in late December/early January and are driven by the position and distance of the moon and sun to the earth. The shape of bays and estuaries can magnify the intensity of tides and tidal range. In addition, low barometric pressure affects tidal height. King Tides bring unusually high water levels and can cause tidal flooding. These tides can last for several days and range anywhere between a few inches to several feet above normal.

For example, due to low barometric pressure in the winter combined with the King Tide event, on January 5, Seattle’s water level is projected to reach +13.3 feet as compared to an average high tide range of +7 to +11 feet during summer high tides.

Your photos give a glimpse of what the future may look like

Your photographs help scientists visualize the impact of rising waters on Washington’s coasts. Human and natural processes are constantly altering our shores and projections indicate that future sea level rise will intensify these changes. We want to continue capturing what happens during extreme high tides, and we need your help!

Where and when

Below are the projected King Tide events for the 2014 Season and their corresponding water levels. Visit the Washington Department of Ecology’s website to see when and where King Tides are occurring in other locations: King Tide Map

Strait of Juan de Fuca	Dec 30	Dec 31	Jan 1	Jan 2	Jan 29
Port Angeles	11:19 am, 8.5 feet	12:06 pm, 8.6 feet	12:59 pm, 8.5 feet	1:51 pm, 8.2 feet	12:04 pm, 8.2 feet

Puget Sound	Jan 4	Jan 5	Jan 6
Seattle		8:04 am, 13.3 feet	8:47 am, 13.1 feet
Everett		8:10 am, 12.8 feet	8:49 am, 12.5 feet
Olympia	8:07 am, 17.1 feet	8:49 am, 17.1 feet	9:32 am, 16.9 feet

Coastal Washington	Dec 31	Jan 1	Jan 2	Jan 30	Jan 31
La Push	10:45 am, 10.0 feet	11:37 am, 10.2 feet	12:27 am, 10.2 feet	11:28 am, 10.1 feet	12:19 pm, 10.1 feet

Submit your pics

Your pictures will be used in educational and outreach materials to raise awareness around the impacts of flooding, sea level rise, and how humans interact with these vulnerable coastal areas.

Below are three ways to share your photos. Most importantly, please share your photos on washington.kingtides.net and the Flickr group. Be sure to record the date, time, and location of each picture.

1. Upload your picture to Washington’s Witness King Tides website at http://washington.kingtides.net. Scroll over “Get Involved” and then click on “Share your Photos.”
2. Go to www.flickr.com to sign up for a free account, if you don’t already have one. Join the Washington King Tides Photo Initiative Group. Edit each photo in Flickr to include in the description, date, time, direction facing, and any recognizable structure or location.
3. Upload your picture to Instagram from the location where you took the picture and use #kingtides.

Be safe

Take extra precautions when you walk on slippery areas or near big waves, and always be aware of your surroundings and the weather conditions.

Don’t forget to upload your pictures on our Flickr group and Witness King Tides website!

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Let’s Talk Science! Gravity, the moon, and all this talk of King Tides

By Brook Beeler, Environmental Educator, Office of Communication and Education

Here at Ecology we are dedicated to understanding the effects of climate change in Washington. One of the ways to visualize what sea level rise could look like is to document high tides. Spring tides occur naturally when the sun and the moon align, causing an increased gravitational pull on the Earth’s oceans. Note that spring tides are the scientific term commonly used to describe tides and don’t refer to the season. The very highest spring tides are called “King Tides”. Ecology’s King Tide photo initiativeis an exciting interactive way to get citizens engaged in science. But how many of us can actually explain how tides work? It turns out that many adults know it has something to do with the moon, but explaining the process can be complicated.

Let’s start with gravity. All objects that have mass have a force between them. There is gravitational force between me and my laptop, me and my coffee table, and me and the chair across the room. It is also important to remember that the gravitational force gets weaker with distance. The closer I am to the chair the greater the pull of the gravitational force. As I move further away, that pull decreases. Note gravitational force is pull, not push. When talking about tides, we’re referring to the force of the moon’s pull.

So what is the moon pulling exactly? If the moon is pulling the Earth’s water towards itself, why is there also a bulge on the opposite side of earth-moon alignment? A common misconception among many folks attributes the second bulge to the earth’s rotational force. To be honest, when researching this blog, my mind was a bit boggled. I wasn’t “getting” it either. Then, the January issue of Science & Children published by the National Science Teachers Association landed on my door. 

Here is what I learned: It helps to imagine the moon exerting its force on three things. 1) It pulls the water closest to the moon, 2) It pulls the Earth, and finally, 3) It pulls the water farthest from the moon. Remember the strength of the moon’s pull is weaker on the “things” it is farther from. Therefore water closest to the moon receives the strongest pull causing a water bulge. The Earth receives a medium pull, separating it from the water farthest from the moon, causing a water bulge. The water farthest from the moon receives a small pull, but not enough to diminish the water bulge. Now add the Earth, its continents and ocean basins rotating. Twice a day the continents and ocean basins pass through the gravitational pull causing the bulge and water slowly rises then falls. Boom, tides!


Now add the sun’s gravitational pull. When the sun isn’t in alignment with the earth and moon the gravitational pulls cancel each other out. These are called neap tides. When the sun is in alignment it reinforces the moon’s pull causing spring tides, the highest “King Tides”. That is where our climate connection comes in. Earth and moon interactions, in the form of “King Tides”, can provide a glimpse of what sea level rise caused by climate change might look like in Washington. King tides are a natural part of the earth's tidal cycle and are not a result of climate change but they do provide a view of the locally highest tides, which may occur more frequently as sea levels rise due to the effects of climate change.

Illustration credits: NSTA Journal Science & Children

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Our Changing Climate: Mount Adams glaciers disappearing

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Air Quality Program

Over the weekend, the Yakima Herald-Republic published this interesting article about how warming temperatures are melting glaciers on Mount Adams.

The photo of Mount Adams is from the U.S. Geological Survey.

For more information on Cascade Mountains glaciers, check out the North Cascade Glacier Climate Project from Nichols College in Massachusetts.

On another note, the Kitsap Sun had this recent blog post on sea level rise. It stems from a reader’s reply to a story on high tides, which stems from Ecology’s call for people to be on the lookout for so-called “king tides.”

You can read more about Ecology’s “king tides” project here. And you can see the photos of high tides that people submitted to Ecology.

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Capture the King and share with Ecology

By Suzanna Stoike and Johanna Ofner, Department of Ecology

Public invited to share photos of high tide

Did you know some of the year’s highest tides occur in the winter?

These tides — often called “King Tides” — occur naturally when the sun and the moon align, causing an increased gravitational pull on the Earth’s oceans.

This year Washington’s king tides occur in December and January.

The Department of Ecology is again inviting residents and visitors to grab their cameras and head to the beaches for our third Washington King Tide Photo Initiative.

Visualizing what sea level rise might look like

Documenting how these King Tides affect our shorelines and infrastructure (roads, sea walls, buildings, etc.) in Puget Sound and our outer coast helps us visualize what sea level rise could look like in the future.

Ecology collected more than 400 King Tide photos in 2010 and 2011! You can see the photos at the Washington King Tides Photo Initiative’s Flickr Group.

You can view photos taken all along the West Coast on our partner’s Flickr sites: British Columbia, Oregon and California, including San Francisco Bay area, Santa Monica and San Diego.

Point, shoot and upload

To participate in this winter’s Washington King Tide Photo Initiative, follow these steps:

• Use Ecology’s King Tide Map & Schedule – Winter 2011-2012 to find the time and date of the highest tides in your area. Check out Ecology’s Coastal Atlas to locate a public beach.




• Take photos during one of the identified high tides in your area. We recommend taking photos in areas where high water levels can be gauged against familiar landmarks like sea walls, jetties, bridge supports, or local buildings.




• Upload your photos to the Washington King Tide Photo Initiative Flickr Group. Just follow the instructions on the page.

We look forward to seeing your photos for the 2011-2012 Washington King Tide Photo Initiative.

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Our Changing Climate: Mapping Climate Change

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Air Quality Program

A friend sent a link to an interesting website, Climate Hot Map, offered by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

It includes a clickable map that shows how climate change is impacting and could impact places all over the world, including in Washington. (The photo, which is not on the website, shows the receding South Cascade Glacier in Washington's Cascade Mountains.)

The site also provides a lot of information on climate impacts on people and different aspects of the environment.

My friend wrote: “Especially under the People icon, you can see issues related to human health, food, water use and economic costs (just the stuff most people care about, quite a lot in the USA). Also other icons you can check are water (too much, too little), oceans (sea level, acidity, ice), ecosystems and temperatures (air, ocean, water, ground).”

Check it out and see what you find.

In Washington, one of the impacts that poses concerns is rising sea levels and tides. Here’s a recent KPLU report that explores the subject.

High tides hit Monday...grab your camera!

by the Puget Sound Partnership

Some higher than normal tides will be coming May 16-18, creating an opportunity for great picture taking, and a hint at what impacts global sea-level rise might have on our area. While the early week tides are not "King Tides," which are the highest predicted high tides of the year, they are expected to be significantly higher than average.

Recent scientific studies project that global sea-level will rise 3-5 feet by 2100. Sea-level rise impacts should be considered when investing in roads, sewers, and other infrastructure, developing homes and businesses, and restoring natural areas.

Photographs and videos taken during May's higher than normal water levels can be used to generate local publicity for an October King Tide Campaign, planned by EPA's Climate Ready Estuaries, to educate people about sea-level rise impacts, so that responsible management and planning decisions can be made to better protect estuaries of national significance from adverse climate change impacts.

Visit NOAA's "Tidal Prediction" web-page to look up the time of day when the highest tides will occur on May 16, 17 and 18.

To share your high tide photos, join our Flickr group.

For more information about past photo initiatives, see Ecology's King Tides page.

To get involved in Puget Sound Partnership activities, join their ECOnet outreach network.

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