Sep 1978 - On-Line Newspaper Archives of Ocean City

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'- PAGE 14 — SECTION THREE OCEAN CITY (N.J.) SENTINEL-LEDGER FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER 1. 1978
Seashore encounters
Barrier island living is greatly influenced by tidal ebb and flow
By STEPHEN GABRIEL
and
KATHY GODDARD
1 From the sunbathers on the
beach to the salt water
; fisherman, we all adjust our
; activities at the shore to the
• rhythm of the tides. This daily
' fluctuation of the water level in
: the bay and ocean results from
< the gravitational attraction of
• the moon and sun for the earth,
j How are the tides explained?
• Because the moon is the
', major tide producer, let's
; concentrate on it for the
; moment. The moon exerts a
; force of attraction on the earth
• at its center and on each par-
; tide of water, forces which are
I always unequal. It is the dif-
; ference between these forces at
any one point that provides the
-net force which produces the
i ocean tides. Without bogging
; down in the laws of physics, the
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net forces of attraction across
the earth are directed in such a
way that an oceanic tidal bulge
is drawn out on the side of the
earth facing the moon, and on
the side of the earth away from
the moon. Thus as the earth
spins on its axis, any point on
the earth passes under two
bulges and two troughs (two
high and two low tides) approximately
per day.
While our solar day (the time
required for any point on the
earth to pass beneath the sun
again as the earth turns on its
axis) is 24hour8 long, our lunar
day is about 24 hours SO minutes
because the moon's rotation
around a spinning earth causes
any point on the earth to go a
bit farther than one revolution
to "catch up" and come
beneath the moon again. This
results each day in
progressively later tides. For
instance, low tide on Ocean City
beaches the afternoon of July 4
was at 2:16 p.m. while low tide
the following afternoon was not
until 2:54 p.m. Because of
variations in how the sun's tidal
influence overlaps the moon's,
one day's tides can be 25 to 70
minutes later than the previous
day's corresponding tides.
The sun's tidal influence is
most important however, in
how much it adds onto or
subtracts from the moon's.
When ths earth, sun and moon
To demonstrate commitment
are in line with each other
(about every two weeks at
times of full moon and new
moon), the sun's tidal influence
adds onto the moon's and we
experience "spring" tides. The
tide levels rise higher and fall
lower than usual (about 10
percent in each case) resulting
in a maximum range between
high and low tide heights.
The tidal influences act in
total opposition to one another
when the sun and moon are at
right angles to each other, so
then the high tides are lower
than usual and low tides
somewhat higher. These are
the "neap" tides and they too
occur about every two weeks.
The tides are an integral part
of seashore life even to the
extent that each year it's the
tides which have the final say
as to when Ocean City's Night
in Venice Parade is scheduled.
Parade organizers search for
that late July Saturday evening
when the tide will be high to
allow the parade to travel
through the bayfront lagoons.
Boaters know that returning to
the bay from the ocean is easier
on the incoming tide, and each
fisherman has a favorite part of
the tide to do his fishing. And,
because low tide is followed six
hours later by high tide, resort
sponsors of sand sculpting
contests are forever scanning
the tide tables.
In previous articles we've
discussed how nutrients are
brought to the salt marsh and
bay plants and animals by the
tidal currents and that the tidal
currents scour and help to keep
dear the bay and inlet channels.
With the tidal exchange of
old water for new, the tides help
to flush put pollutants from the
bay and lagoons as well.
It is the tides too which expose
a greater expanse of beach
to wave action, allowing the
waves to reach up as high on
the beachfront as they often do.
The combination of storms with
full moon tides has always
spelled trouble for the Jersey
coast as witnessed in the March
'62 storm.
These various roles of the
Hughes asks Carter to NAFEC ceremony
U.S. Rep. William J. Hughes
(D-2nd) has invited President
Jimmy Carter to attend
groundbreaking ceremonies for
the new $50 million building
program at NAFEC when the
President is in Atlantic County
on September 19.
Hughes said that the
President's participation hi the
groundbreaking would symbolize
the highest level of
federal commitment to keep
NAFEC in South Jersey.
"For years, the possibility of
NAFEC moving to another
state was a subject of intense
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speculation and concern in
South Jersey," Hughes said,
noting that many of the center's
antiquated buildings were
costly, crowded, and inefficient.
NAFEC was
established when the Federal
Aviation Administration took
over the old Atlantic City Naval
Air Station in 1958. with its
many World War II vintage
buildings.
After intense efforts by local
citizens and officials to prevent
the move of NAFEC, former
Transportation Secretary
William Coleman played a key
role in saving NAFEC by
recommending that the facility
be modernized through a new
construction program. The
congressional approval
necessary to put Coleman's
recommendation into effect
were won in the closing hours of
the 94th Congress through the
hard-fought efforts of Rep.
Hughes in the House of
Representatives, and Senators
Case and Williams on the
Senate side.
Lingering fears about the
move of NAFEC were recently
rekindled, however, when
LMrv-WMUtorrh photo
Elizabeth Blundin is presented with a silver
tray as a token of appreciation for her many
years of service to the Women's Regular
Republican Club of Ocean City, Making the
presentation is Angela Pulvino, club president.
Mrs. Blundin is owner-operator of the Biscayne
Hotel which she has operated for 59 years. She
will celebrate her 103rd birthday September 14.
FESTIVAL SET
SEA ISLE CITY — The
annual Ocean View Festival
will be held Saturday, September
16, from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. in the Masonic Hall on
Kennedy Blvd. District
Lutheran Churches will sponsor
tables featuring baked goods.
Jewelry, handmade items, toys.
Jams and Jellies, books, and
many other items.
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technical problems began to
plague negotiations between
the FAA, the Atlantic County
Improvement Authority, and
the major financial companies
which were to buy the bonds to
support the improvement
program. Despite the difficulties,
however, the lease
was finally signed by all the
parties in July of this year,
clearing the way for the
groundbreaking.
NAFEC's primary mission is
to advance the safety and efficiency
of civilian aviation
through research, development,
lest, and evaluation of
concepts and technologies
relating to air traffic control,
navigation, and other critical
areas. The facility has
pioneered a number of major
advances, and conducted experiments
in techniques to cope
with crashes and rescues, fire
safety, radar and navigation,
and aircraft structure along
with airport design.
The new building program is
expected to create several
thousand new Jobs, and assure
that the center's 1,400 FAA
employees will remain in South
Jersey. The center, already the
most advanced in the nation,
will be able to house more than
$100 million in advanced
computer equipment to
promote the cause of flight
safety after the new facilities
are completed.
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tides reflect yet additional
examples of interdependence in
the coastal environment. In
fact, we not only adjust our
plans according to the tides, but
we depend on those maintenance
functions that the tides
perform in the ecosystem to
keep the bays and salt marsh in
quality condition for our
recreational use. Nature has
provided for these balanced
interrelationships, and there is
a place for man and his activities.
However, we must
avoid interrupting nature's
smooth operation in order to
continue enjoying nature's
gifts.
UPCOMING OFFERINGS
Stockton Center for Environmental
Research,
Pomona, 652-1776: September
3, Oswego River canoe trip and
September 16, ocean voyage to
the Baltimore Canyon.
Wetlands Institute, Stone
OCEAN CITY HOME SAVINGS
AND LOAN ASSOCIATION
Harbor, 368-1211: September 2,
South Jersey carvers exhibit A
(all day). •
This week's article is the last
of our regularly scheduled
series. We hope the column has
been entertaining as well as
informative. From time to tune
other topics might arise which
could be discussed, and we ?
encourage anyone who has
ideas for future topics they
would like to have addressed to
send them to "Seashore Encounters,"
P. O. Box 174, City
Hall, Ocean City, N.J. 06226, or
call 609-39^6111, extension 267. *,
Also, the Wetlands Institute, V
Stockton. Environmental
Center, Oceanic Society, and
Marine Science Consortium
sponsor activities and welcome
visitors all year round. And
remember that summer-like
weather stays with us ln£
South Jersey for a while yet, so ~
get out and see all there is to the
Jersey shore.
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