why are there no tides in the Mediterranean sea?

Answer 1

The tides in the Med are so small they are bearly noticable.

The reason for this is the Mediterranean is essentially a massive lake, and the only way in and out is the stretch of water between the south of spain and the top of africa called the Strait of Gibraltar. The sea doesn't have anywhere to go quickly when the tides change in the Atlantic Ocean.

Answer 2

Yes, however due to its virtually being land locked the height variance is only about two feet between high and low tide. The Mediterranean Sea tides are semi-diurnal in nature. There are diurnal bands which are evident in the Eastern Meditteranean. The Western Mediterranean tides are effected by the co-oscillating tides of the Atlantic Ocean propagating through the Strait of Gibraltar. The tides in the Eastern Mediterranean are a system of standing waves resulting from direct astronimical forcing. These two wave fronts converge in the Straits of Sicily, leading to interesting interactions.

Answer 3

There are tides in the Mediterranean, it is just that they are of a low amplitude, probably averaging only 40 cms although in some areas thay can be 2 metres.
The reason they are low is complicated and a mixture of reasons but probably due to the small inlet/outlet to the Atlantic ocean. Local climates and air pressure also have effects on tides as does depth of water.
But definitely tides are present

Answer 4

The Mediterranean sea does have tides, but they are of a very low amplitude, so you don't really see evidence of them.

Its tides have an average amplitude of a few centimetres, instead of the several metres like in the Atlantic.

Answer 5

Geography

The Mediterranean is c.2,400 mi (3,900 km) long with a maximum width of c.1,000 mi (1,600 km); its greatest depth is c.14,450 ft (4,400 m), off Cape Matapan, Greece. It connects with the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar; with the Black Sea through the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosporus; and with the Red Sea through the Suez Canal. Its chief divisions are the Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, Ionian, and Aegean seas; its chief islands are Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Crete, Cyprus, Malta, Rhodes, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, the Sporades, the Balearic Islands, and the Ionian Islands. Shallows (Adventure Bank) between Sicily and Cape Bon, Tunisia, divide the Mediterranean into two main basins.

The sea is of higher salinity than the Atlantic and has little variation in tides. The largest rivers that flow into it are the Po, Rhône, Ebro, and Nile. The shores are chiefly mountainous. Earthquakes and volcanic disturbances are frequent. The region around the sea has a warm, dry climate characterized by abundant sunshine. Strong local winds, such as the hot, dry sirocco from the south and the cold, dry mistral and bora from the north, blow across the sea. Fish (about 400 species), sponges, and corals are plentiful. In addition, oil and natural gas have been found in several sections of the sea. The overuse of the sea's natural and marine resources continues to be a problem.

History

Some of the most ancient civilizations (see Aegean civilization) flourished around the Mediterranean. It was opened as a highway for commerce by merchants trading from Phoenicia. Carthage, Greece, Sicily, and Rome were rivals for dominance of its shores and trade; under the Roman Empire it became virtually a Roman lake and was called Mare Nostrum [our sea]. Later, the Byzantine Empire and the Arabs dominated the Mediterranean. Between the 11th and 14th cent., Italian city trading states such as Genoa, Venice, and Barcelona dominated the region; they struggled with the Ottomans for naval supremacy, particularly in the E Mediterranean. Products of Asia passed to Europe over Mediterranean trade routes until the establishment of a route around the Cape of Good Hope (late 15th cent.).

With the opening of the Suez Canal (1869) the Mediterranean resumed its importance as a link on the route to the East. The development of the northern regions of Africa and of oil fields in the Middle East has increased its trade. Its importance as a trade link and as a route for attacks on Europe resulted in European rivalry for control of its coasts and islands and led to campaigns in the region during both world wars. Since World War II the Mediterranean region has been of strategic importance to both the United States and, until its dissolution, the Soviet Union. In 1995 countries bordering the Mediterranean signed a pact agreeing to protect it by eliminating toxic waste disposal there over a 10-year period.

Bibliography

See E. D. Bradford, Mediterranean, Portrait of a Sea (1971); J. E. Swain, The Struggle for the Control of the Mediterranean Prior to 1848 (1973); L. S. Kaplan and R. W. Clawson, ed., NATO and the Mediterranean (1984); M. Miloradov, ed., Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea (1987); M. Grant, The Ancient Mediterranean (1988).

Answer 6

It has tides. What are you talking about? Even rivers connected to the sea have tides hundreds of miles inland. Wind has nothing to do with tides, its all gravity and the moon.

Answer 7

I can't answer, because I've forgotten.

But, for people answering: there is no tides in the Mediterranean sea, like every other meditterranean area.

Answer 8

There is a slight,but unoticeable rise and fall in sea level, the med is 99.9% landlocked,the entrance/exit being the straits of Gibraltar.

Answer 9

it does have tides you just dont notice them

Answer 10

has tides,homework is barmy if that's the question