King Tides

Winter Tide Pooling and Why Scientists are Using Tides to Predict Sea Level Rise

By Seth Meyer, Contributor

You may not think about going to the beach in the wintertime, but it can be one of the best times to see local Southern California wildlife up close in their natural habitat without any effort at all. We’re talking about tide pooling! Finding animals living inside of pools created by the tides. Discover why the public and scientists alike are very interested in tide pools and the animals living within them.

So why is wintertime the best time to go tide pooling? Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun, and the times of these low tides and high tides change every day as well as season to season. In the summer, low tides are not as intense and occur only at nighttime while the low tides in the winter are more intense and occur during the day, providing great fun for people of all ages.

Along with the normal tides though, every year, the local shoreline experiences exaggerated high and low tides called king tides. These tides are the result of the moon and the sun being in the position with the most gravitational pull against the ocean, creating tides that groups like the California King Tides Project are using to visualize sea level rise. The California King Tide Project is adamant that these king tides are not related to sea level rise, but seeing the tides 2, sometimes 3 feet higher than the usual tides is indicative of what tides will look like on an everyday basis once the sea level rises. The numbers they give are not exaggerations either. A study done in 2018 projected San Francisco to see a rise of almost 3 feet by the year 2050, and by almost 7 feet in the year 2100. These numbers are estimates but the King Tide Project warns that the amount of sea level rise will depend on how quickly we stop burning fossil fuels.

Finding tidepools can be the first roadblock to experiencing this unfamiliar world. Luckily, right here on the Palos Verdes Peninsula there are some great places to explore, and if you feel less confident going on your own, places such as the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium offer public tidepool walks on days when the tides are optimal. Check out its website and click its calendar to see the next tidepool walk. The first week of January has walks almost every day and walks continue well into March.

When preparing for these tidepools, here are a few tips to help you have the most fun while you are out there. Tide pools are made within the rocky shore, therefore, it’s rocky! Close-toed shoes that provide good ankle and sole support are recommended for walking on the rocks and helping you be comfortable while hiking around. Weather is always something you also want to check because you don’t want to hike out to the pools just to realize the waves are too strong that day or it’s cold and you only brought a light sweater. Typically, tidepools are a little bit colder and a little windier than the mainland.

Don’t let the weather deter you from walking down to the tidepools though. Carl Carranza, an educator from the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, expressed that “the cold, overcast drizzly days we just had allowed us to see much activity in the pools.” Pools are affected strongly by the sun so when it is absent, animals are more comfortable and will move around more. Carranza mentioned that the overcast weather the last week made anemones, octopuses, sea hares and even nudibranchs become more active in the Point Fermin Tide pools. He said they have even seen dolphins swimming on the outside of the kelp forest four out of the last five times there have been walks. Life is teeming in tide pools and you have the ability to see these animals in their natural habitat without getting wet at all.

Speaking of getting wet, it is recommended not to step into the pools. These tide pool animals experience stress during a low tide so Carranza always tells his visitors not to step in pools as you are almost always stepping on an animal when you do so. He also warns that rocks are wet and pointy and running can be a quick way to a wet bum or a cut leg, so walking is a necessity.

Walking, standing still and being observant is also the best way to find animals that are camouflaged and that you may miss if you are running or not paying attention. As mentioned before, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium’s tide pool walks are the best way to get familiar with tide pools for the first time and once you are comfortable, you can explore other areas around the peninsula such as Abalone Cove and White Point.

While this may be a really cool opportunity to see the animals, these tides are important for scientists using low tides and high tides to predict what the future might look like when considering global changes such as sea level rise. Citizens can get involved in this documentation with the King Tide Project as well. The more photos that the group receives, the more data they have to help find flood risk areas, compare models with predictions, and serve as a living record for future generations. The next king tides are Jan. 21 and 22 of 2023. For more information on king tides and how to get involved go to https://www.coastal.ca.gov/kingtides/, and to see upcoming programs at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, go to https://www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org/.

Seth Meyer is a graduate of Long Beach State University’s marine biology program, with interests in science, photography, culinary arts and music.