Ocean tides:
Ocean tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of gravitational forces exerted by the Moon, Sun, and rotation of the Earth.
The semi-diurnal range (the difference in height between high and low waters over about half a day) varies in a two-week cycle. Approximately twice a month, around new moon and full moon when the Sun, Moon, and Earth form a line (a condition known as syzygy), the tidal force due to the sun reinforces that due to the Moon. The tide's range is then at its maximum; this is called the spring tide. It is not named after the season, but, like that word, derives from the meaning "jump, burst forth, rise", as in a natural spring.
When the Moon is at first quarter or third quarter, the sun and Moon are separated by 90° when viewed from the Earth, and the solar tidal force partially cancels the Moon's. At these points in the lunar cycle, the tide's range is at its minimum; this is called the neap tide, or neaps.
There is about a seven-day interval between springs and neaps.
Some shorelines experience two nearly equal high and low tides each day, called a semi-diurnal tide. Some locations experience only one high and low tide each day, called a diurnal tide. Some locations experience two uneven tides a day, or sometimes one high and one low each day; this is called a mixed tide. The times and amplitude of tides at a locale are influenced by the alignment of the Sun and Moon, by the pattern of tides in the deep ocean, by the amphidromic systems of the oceans, and the shape of the coastline and near-shore bathymetry.
Lake tides:
Large lakes such as Superior and Erie can experience tides of 1 to 4 cm, but these can be masked by meteorologically induced phenomena such as seiche. The tide in Lake Michigan is described as 0.5 to 1.5 inches (13 to 38 mm) or 1¾ inches.
Atmospheric tides:
Atmospheric tides are negligible at ground level and aviation altitudes, masked by weather's much more important effects. Atmospheric tides are both gravitational and thermal in origin and are the dominant dynamics from about 80 to 120 kilometres (50 to 75 mi), above which the molecular density becomes too low to support fluid behavior.
Earth tides:
Earth tides or terrestrial tides affect the entire Earth's mass, which acts similarly to a liquid gyroscope with a very thin crust. The Earth's crust shifts (in/out, east/west, north/south) in response to lunar and solar gravitation, ocean tides, and atmospheric loading.
Galactic tides:
Galactic tides are the tidal forces exerted by galaxies on stars within them and satellite galaxies orbiting them. The galactic tide's effects on the Solar System's Oort cloud are believed to cause 90 percent of long-period comets.