Page "Tidal acceleration" Paragraph 15

The rotational angular momentum of the Earth decreases and consequently the length of the day increases.

The net tide raised on Earth by the Moon is dragged ahead of the Moon by Earth's much faster rotation.

Tidal friction is required to drag and maintain the bulge ahead of the Moon, and it dissipates the excess energy of the exchange of rotational and orbital energy between the Earth and Moon as heat.

If the friction and heat dissipation were not present, the Moon's gravitational force on the tidal bulge would rapidly ( within two days ) bring the tide back into synchronization with the Moon, and the Moon would no longer recede.

Most of the dissipation occurs in a turbulent bottom boundary layer in shallow seas such as the European shelf around the British Isles, the Patagonian shelf off Argentina, and the Bering Sea.