Would the Earth's weather be any different if the moon didn't exist?

If the moon were suddenly gone from the sky, we would probably miss its presence, at least at night. How many of us actually look at the moon during the daytime? But the moon has the same effect on the Earth whether it's day or night. It wouldn't be as easy to see at night without the moon. On the other hand, with a night sky that would always be dark, astronomical observations would be easier.

One of the most noticable ramifications of not having the moon as a companion would be the changes in the tides. Of course, there would still be tides because of the Sun's influence, but they would only be about 1/3 as high as today's tides. However, without the moon, the range between high tide and low tide would be fairly constant throughout the year. On Earth today, the tidal range is affected by the phases of the moon.

Lower tides would shrink the intertidal beach zone, which is usually teeming with life. The narrower intertidal zone would make it more difficult for the species living there to maintain their niche, and as a result, diversity would be diminished.

Another consequence of a moonless Earth would be a faster rotation rate. Without the moon constantly tugging on the Earth,

the Earth would spin more rapidly than it does now. According to Neil Comins in his book, "What If The Moon Didn't Exist," the length of a day would be considerably shorter on Earth if there

were no moon. If you recall the eclipse question from a few weeks ago, the Earth's moon is much bigger in comparison to its parent planet than is any other satellite in our solar system (it's not the largest satellite

though, Ganymede and Callisto, which orbit Jupiter and Titan, which orbits Saturn, are larger). The relatively large size and mass of our moon exerts a considerable gravitational effect on the Earth, so that the Earth rotates once every 24 hours. Without the moon, the Sun would only be up for several hours a day in the mid latitudes, depending upon the season.

The primary weather effect of a faster spinning Earth would be higher winds in the atmosphere and on the surface. Winds arise as a result of the planet's rotation as well as from the differential heating and cooling of the air, the land and the water. On a moonless Earth, the winds would not only be stronger, but they would almost always move in the direction that the Earth rotates. On Earth today, the winds in the

upper atmosphere (at the mid latitudes) generally move west to east, but sometimes the air flow takes on a north to south or a south to north trajectory. When we observe Jupiter or Saturn, both of which rotate once in about every ten hours, we can see bands of clouds in their upper atmophere streaming along in a west to east direction at speeds reaching

over 300 miles per hour. On an Earth with no moon, the winds at the surface certainly wouldn't be that strong, however, they surely would be stronger and more persistent than they are today.

The increased windspeeds might translate into increased kite and hair spray sales (another blow to the environment). Also, probably more surfboards would be sold since the stronger winds would generate some pretty nifty curls to hang-ten by (can you tell that I've never surfed?).

The absence of the moon would even make the Earth a less romantic place. People will some day have to find a replacement for romantic moonlight srolls because the moon is gradually drifting away from the Earth. The Sun attracts the moon twice as strongly as does the Earth, and millions

of years from now the moon may orbit the Sun between Venus and Earth.