Ocean Tides and Magnetic Fields

Seawater is an electrical conductor, and therefore interacts with Earths magnetic field. As the tides cycle around the ocean basins, the ocean water essentially tries to pull the geomagnetic field lines along.

Because the salty water is a good, but not great, conductor, the interaction is relatively weak.

The strength of the interaction depends on the temperature of the ocean water, and scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center are developing improved methods to isolate the signal from ocean tides and use that information to determine the heat content of the ocean.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Matthew Radcliff

Music Credits: "Memory Of A Lifetime" by J Ehrlich [SESAC], Jean-Christophe Beck [BMI]