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These tides are the regal deal
With the fi rst round of winter’s king tides
approaching, volunteer photographers are
invited to help capture their eff ects in the
Oregon King Tides Photo Project.
Th is citizen science activity aims to
document the highest reach of the year’s
highest tides, the fi rst set of which will hit
the Oregon Coast from Monday, Nov. 25, to
Wednesday, Nov. 27.
Th is is the 10th year that Oregon has
participated in this international citizen
science eff ort. Th e project is sponsored by
the CoastWatch Program of the Oregon
Shores Conservation Coalition and the
Oregon Coastal Management Program of
the Department of Land Conservation and
Development, along with local partners.
Th e international project began in
Australia, where the highest tides of the
year are known as “king tides.” Th ese tides
arrive when the sun, moon and Earth are
in alignment, causing a stronger than usual
gravitational pull.
Anyone with a camera can participate.
At high tide on any of the three project
days (the timing of which varies, depending
on location), fi nd a safe spot to observe the
tide in relation to the land, snap photos and
post them online. More information on the
4 • oregoncoastTODAY.com • facebook.com/oregoncoasttoday • November 22, 2019
GREGORY H HENTON
project, a link to tide tables and instructions
for posting photos can be found at www.
oregonkingtides.net.
King tide photos can be taken anywhere
aff ected by tides, whether on the outer
shoreline, in estuaries or along lower river
fl oodplains. Photos showing high water
in relation to infrastructure such as roads,
bridges and seawalls can be particularly
striking, and reveal where fl ooding
problems threaten. But shots of marshes or
other habitats being inundated, or coastal
shorelines subject to fl ooding and erosion, are
also useful.
Th e goal of this long-term citizen
science project is to document the highest
reach of the tides on an ongoing basis, for
comparative study over a period of many
years. Photographers who participated in past
years are urged to return to the locations from
which they took earlier King Tide photos so
as to track the tides in that location over time.
Photographers are also urged to return to the
same locations to take comparison shots at
ordinary high tide.
While the King Tides Photo Project
can help to identify areas that are currently
threatened by fl ooding, the more important
purpose is to gain a preview of sea level
rise. Th e king tides, while extreme today,
will become the “new normal” as sea level
continues to rise, and storm surges increase,
due to climate change. Gaining a glimpse of
tidal inundation likely to become common
decades into the future will benefi t planners,
resource agencies, conservationists and coastal
citizens in preparing for these changes.
Photographs from past years of the King
Tide Photo Project can be viewed on the
project’s Flickr site, www.fl ickr.com/groups/
oregonkingtides.
For more information about this event or
the King Tides Project, contact Jesse Jones,
CoastWatch volunteer coordinator, at 503-
989-7244 or email jesse@oregonshores.org.