The Aegean Sea: Wind Waves and Tides

The wind waves and the periodic elevation and fall of the sea surface in coastal areas, i.e. the tides, are the first manifestations of ocean behaviour that mankind ever observed. Thousands of years ago, Aristotle at the Euripus Strait in the city of Halkis and the nearby shoreline tried to understand why the sea was flooding onto the land and then receding away from it revealing the coastline stretches of sea bottom, known to us as the ‘intertidal zone’, that hours ago were flooded with sea water. As ocean science progressed, various aspects of the oceanic environment came into light regarding physical, chemical, biological and geological characteristics of the sea water. However, wind waves and tides are basic oceanic phenomena that exert a lot of influence on issues related to human activities in the ocean and particularly at the coastal areas. This chapter presents elements of our up-to-date knowledge on wind waves and tides in the Aegean Sea.