Name: Leigh B.
Everyone is aware of the influence of the moon on ocean
I assume that the moon also creates an atmospheric tide. Is this so and
does a regular atmospheric pressure cycle appear on a barograph?
Further, does ground water rise and fall in a well in a cyclic fashion?
Might this account for farmers "planting by the moon" because of higher
levels of moisture in the soil at certain times?
The atmosphere is affected to a very slight
degree by the Moon. It is so small as to be
indistinguishable in a standard barograph
Ground water does not form one elastic liquid medium,
being part of the soil, so I suspect that it does
not rise and fall in a well in response to the movements
of the Moon, but I will defer to a hydrologist for a
David R. Cook
Atmospheric Research Section
Environmental Research Division
Argonne National Laboratory
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Update: June 2012