I. On the correction to the equilibrium theory of tides for the continents

Abstract

In the equilibrium theory of the tides, as worked out by Newton and Bernouilli, it is assumed that the figure of the ocean is at each instant one of equilibrium. But Sir William Thomson has pointed out that, when portions of the globe are occupied by land, the law of rise and fall of water given in the usual solution cannot be satisfied by a constant volume of water.