A number of experts said that the phenomenon of sea water receding in a number of regions is linked to the movement of tides, after social networking sites were filled with pictures of beaches and bodies of water whose water levels had declined following the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria last month.
A number of experts confirm that the decline of the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and a number of water bodies is a normal natural phenomenon associated with the movement of tides, after publications on social media described it as "mysterious", and the analyzes and rumors that followed during the past weeks abounded about it as continuous earthquakes in Middle Eastern countries. .
The circulating posts included pictures of beaches that had receded from the water, including the beach in the city of Sidi Ifni in southern Morocco, whose sands were exposed by large areas due to the receding sea water, which made an old teleferic facility fully visible.
Other publications dealt with talk about a decline in sea water in Lebanon, Egypt and Palestine, a decline in sea levels in the Italian coasts and the drying up of rivers in Venice, considering it a "strange phenomenon" that warns "something will happen" and some said that it is a sign of a tsunami.
Social media was full of these allegations, which sparked panic after the earthquakes and tremors that have occurred in several countries in the Middle East since February 6, and claimed tens of thousands of lives in Turkey and Syria.
However, the recent retreat of the sea on some coasts is a familiar natural phenomenon caused by several factors, which experts explain.
Turkish officials: The affected areas will be reconstructed according to special earthquake-resistant standards pic.twitter.com/zvg4hRgbl4
- TRT Arabic (@TRTArabi) March 6, 2023
natural phenomenon
The tide occurs when the water level rises in the ocean and coasts, and when the water level decreases and recedes on the beaches, what is called tides or low tide occurs.
Hussein Yaabed, head of the communication department at the General Directorate of Meteorology in Morocco, told AFP that the tides are a natural phenomenon that "occurs as a result of the gravitational forces of the moon and the sun, which affect the waters of the seas and oceans."
"The moon's gravitational influence is greater as a result of its proximity to Earth," Yaabed adds.
And if the sun, the moon and the earth are on the same straight line, this leads to the great tidal phenomenon, including the movement of the spring tides.
In addition, other factors affect the movement of tides, such as atmospheric pressure, water depth and coastline shape, as explained in this graphic report.
Al-Hussein Youabed asserts that what some coasts witnessed, including the coast of Sidi Ifni, regarding the decline in the water level, is a natural matter and "it is not a strange or exceptional phenomenon."
He says, "With regard to the city of Sidi Ifni, where the tides occur twice in one day, like all other Moroccan beaches, this is not the first nor the last time that the sea level has reached that low level."
A significant decrease in the water level in the Italian city of Venice, where only mud is left. pic.twitter.com/5l9B5WWd48
- Iyad Al-Hamoud (@Eyaaaad) February 23, 2023
What about the Mediterranean?
Al-Hussein Yaabed attributes the low tide level that was recorded in the Mediterranean Sea during the second week of February 2023 to the phenomenon of astronomical tide, and adds to it "the effect of atmospheric pressure, which witnessed a rise of 1035 HPA."
This pressure pervaded a large part of the Mediterranean region, which led to a decrease in sea level by about 22 centimeters, according to the expert.
In this context, Alvise Papa, who is in charge of the Tidal Monitoring Center in Venice, told AFP that the tides in Venice's rivers that caused them to dry up is "a completely normal matter."
"About 70% of reflux occurs precisely during this period, from January to February," he adds.
Elvis reassures Papa that things will return to normal."
In the "Bay of Fundy-Canada 🇨🇦" the highest tide occurs on Earth's surface, with a height of ~ 16 m. Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun, and the rotation of the Earth. So the moon pulls the earth’s water opposite it, and a water pocket A is formed, and it pulls the earth B, and it pulls - with less force - the part of the water in the back side of the earth, and the pocket C is formed; meaning that water>> pic.twitter.com/Eash6P29kP
— AMTh (@AbMThn) February 26, 2023
This is supported by Claire Frabol, head of the tidal and wind department at the Department of Oceanography and Marine Waters in France, considering the decline of water in the Mediterranean as temporary.
"It is a seasonal phenomenon of shrinking water mass, associated with lower temperatures in winter, which leads to a decrease in sea level," she says.
She adds that this natural contraction this year was associated with the formation of a "strong anti-cyclone".
An anticyclone is an area of the atmosphere where the pressure is higher than around it, which usually results in dry and sunny weather.
Nevertheless, this phenomenon is not worrisome, as Claire Faraboul asserts, "The phenomena that occur during this situation do not constitute a danger, and we are in the process of returning to normal."
Morocco: 🇲🇦 ⭕
In a phenomenon that occurs for the first time.. The Sidi Ifni cable car appears completely over the sands of the sea after an island operation described as strange by local residents. # Muhannad Obarka # Sidi Ifni pic.twitter.com/BWmg0FenBC
— 💯💥Adam F Yasin💥💯 (@AdamFYasin8) February 21, 2023
Is there a risk of a tsunami?
According to the National Tsunami Alert Center (CENALT), "A tsunami is caused by an underwater earthquake of at least magnitude 6.5. Starting at magnitude 8, the generated tsunami can be destructive."
In most cases "the first wave of a tsunami is preceded by a rapid drop in sea level".
In this context, applied mathematician Sylvie Benzoni-Gavage asserts that "if a tsunami could have formed after the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, it would have occurred a long time ago," that is, immediately after the earthquake.
Anne Replomaz, a professor of geology at Joseph Fourier University in France, settles the controversy on the matter, saying: "In the case of the February earthquake, the seismic fault was located on land, not in the sea, so the possibility of a devastating tsunami was very small."
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