According to the progressive wave theory, the tidal wave generated in the Southern Ocean travels from east to west and its different branches move towards the north in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Thus, it is quite natural that farther they move towards the north, the more time they would take.
Therefore on a particular meridian place situated father north should experience high tide later than the places situated to their south. But on the basis of observations it has been noted that the time of occurrence of high tide at Cape Horn on the west coast of the Atlantic Ocean and that at Cape Farewell on the coast of Greenland is practically the same.
This fact alone negatives the validity of this theory. Another point that goes against the progressive wave theory is that there is a difference in the characteristics of the same type of tides in different areas.
For example, the diurnal inequality is less conspicuous, whereas it is more in the tides produced near the California coast. Near Tahiti almost daily the high tide is generated at about mid-day and mid-night.
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The difference in the height of these tides is less than .33 meters. Undoubtedly in the generation of these tides the solar attraction appears to be more effective than that of the moon.
On the basis of these facts it is evident that like the Southern Ocean, in other oceans also the tides are produced independently.
It is, therefore, illogical to assume that in different oceans and seas the branch waves of the primary wave alone could produce tides. Thus, the progressive wave theory fails to solve the problem of the above-mentioned tidal anomalies.