Community Corner

Take Photos of the King Tide

Especially high tide called the King Tide is coming and we're enlisting your help to document it.

When the moon is at its closest approach to the earth, the gravitational pull causes an extremely high tide known as a King Tide and we want you to help us photograph it for a local environmental organization.

Every 14 days during the new and full moons there is a higher high tide than normal due to the gravitational pull of the moon on the oceans. This phenomenon can become exaggerated, like when Hurricane Irene hit the area because the storm surge combined with a new moon resulted in extreme flooding.

In October during the new moon phase, the moon will be at its closest to the earth’s center, known as perigee in astronomical circles. This will cause an extreme high tide and unusual flooding may occur. This year the King Tide in our area will occur on Oct. 26 and 27.

To help people understand the impact of sea level rise, the Long Island Sound Study–a partnership of organizations that are helping to protect the Sound–wants people to send in pictures of local King Tides.

"The purpose of the King Tide Campaign is to have people be a little more aware of climate change and get a better visual of its impact," said Larissa Graham, the Long Island Sound Study’s outreach coordinator.

The King Tide Campaign is a part of the Climate Ready Estuaries program, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. The program seeks to assess the impact and educate the public on vulnerabilities of estuaries and coastal areas to climate change.

While the King Tide itself is not a result of climate change, as sea levels continue to rise, flooding of the kind that occurs during the unusually high tide will become more common. According to the Long Island Sound Study website, the height of a King Tide “gives us an idea of what the average high tide level will be in 20-30 years.”

To participate in the Long Island Sound Study’s "Capture the King Tide” program, pick a site near the Sound that has easy access during high tide. Determine when the high tide will be for daytime hours of Oct. 19 and 20 and take a picture for comparison. Then return in daylight King Tides (normal high tides) for Oct. 26 and 27 and take another picture from the same spot. It’s best to have some kind of landmark or structure in the background to show the difference in the tide level.

To find out the high tide times, use Patch’s handy tide charts or click here and find your local high tides.

Submit your photos, along with the time and date each photo was taken, to info@longislandsoundstudy.net or post them on Long Island Sound Study's Facebook page by Nov. 4. Selected photographs will be posted to the Long Island Sound Study’s Web site in early December.

Also, send in your photos to Patch at lon.cohen@patch.com or post to our Facebook page with all the same information and we’ll put them into a King Tide gallery to post on Port Jefferson Patch.


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