Abstract
THIS investigation stems from an obscure statement by the late D. H. Macmillan in a semi-popular book on tides1. He stated (page 48) that the years when the tide-raising forces reach their greatest peak values occur at intervals of very roughly 16 centuries, and gave a sequence of dates starting with 3500 BC and ending with 1433 and 3300 AD. He did not describe the exact terms of the calculation but merely suggested that they involved coincidence of perihelion (closest approach of the Earth to the Sun) and zero solar declination (Sun crossing equator), which is in fact impossible within the given range of dates. (The longitude of perihelion crosses the equator at intervals of about 105 centuries and will next do so in 6581 AD). Further, if one computes the lunar and solar elements for 3300 AD, for example, one finds that they are not particularly favorable for large tides.
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References
Macmillan, D. H., Tides (CR Books, London, 1966).
Gordon, D. L., Int. hydrogr. Rev. 45, 1, 55–65 (1968). (esp. fig. on page 62).
Cartwright, D. E., and Tayler, R. J., Geophys. J.R. astr. Soc., 23, 45–74 (1971).
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CARTWRIGHT, D. Years of peak astronomical tides. Nature 248, 656–657 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/248656a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/248656a0
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