I cannot tell you that walking past the Northport Harbor the horrendous odor you can encounter. Why does this occur? Well we experience two high and low tides per day. During low tide, sea level is at its lowest point, and during high tide, sea level is at its highest point. The differences between tides are best seen inside a harbor or along the shoreline where a significant summer or winter berm is present.
When low tide is near, villages and towns release sewage effluent into the nearby harbor or inlet. The horrendous odor that I smelled came from storm water effluent, or decaying organic matter.
Why do we experience tides? Due to the gravitational forces between earth, sun, and moon. Since the moon is a celestial body orbiting around earth, the moon and earth have a gravitational attraction. The pull of the moon slightly displaces the earth. We experience high tides where the earth is facing the moon and directly opposite of the same. The remaining two sides of the earth experience low tide (see picture).
When the sun is mixed into the equation, it enhances earth's high and low tides. When the sun, earth, and moon are aligned in a straight line, the high tides are even higher! These tides are called spring tides. When the three celestial bodies are not aligned, the tides are lower. When the moon positioned perpendicular to the sun in Earth's orbit, the tides are even lower than normal! These tides are called neap tides. This animation on tides really depict spring and neap tides. The above image demonstrates the lunar phases along with spring and neap tides.
Use this hyperlink to learn more on tides from the NOAA website:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Tides and Currents
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