Speaking of a good laugh, how about you explain how "continental drift ... ocean flow friction and energy dissipation" could make the moon recede more slowly. :chuckle:
Here is a list of 21 published studies dealing with tides and the moon. Some are specifically directed towards how tidal changes result in changes in the orbital recession of the moon, and others deal with relevant historical evidence. I deleted nearly a hundred other articles from the list that describe in much greater detail other studies of tidal and geophysical interactions, but that were less germane to the subject of how fast the moon is receding.
1. “Tidal rhythmites and their implications”, Earth-Science Reviews, Volume 69, Issues 1-2, February 2005, Pages 79-95
2. “Earth/Moon tidal evolution: model results and observational evidence”, Progress in Oceanography, Volume 40, Issues 1-4, 1997, Pages 109-124
3. “Calculating Earth/Moon system parameters from sub-yearly tidal deposit records: An example from the carboniferous tradewater formation”, Sedimentary Geology, Volume 295, 15 September 2013, Pages 67-76
4. “Tidal friction and its consequences in palaeogeodesy, in the gravity field variations and in tectonics”, Journal of Geodynamics, Volume 25, Issues 1?2, January-March 1998, Pages 61-84
5. “Precambrian tidal and glacial clastic deposits: implications for Precambrian Earth/Moon dynamics and palaeoclimate”, Sedimentary Geology, Volume 120, Issues 1-4, September 1998, Pages 55-74
6. “A survey of recent changes in the main components of the ocean tide”, Continental Shelf Research, Volume 30, Issue 15, 1 September 2010, Pages 1680-1691
7. “Body tides on a 3-D elastic earth: Toward a tidal tomography”, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 277, Issues 1-2, 15 January 2009, Pages 86-90
8. “Not so rare Earth? New developments in understanding the origin of the Earth and Moon”, Chemie der Erde - Geochemistry, Volume 67, Issue 3, 25 October 2007, Pages 179-200
9. “The tides, their origins and behaviour”, Endeavour, Volume 10, Issue 4, 1986, Pages 184-190
10. “Whewell’s tidal researches: scientific practice and philosophical methodology”, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A, Volume 41, Issue 1, March 2010, Pages 26-40
11. “The lunar tides in the Antarctic mesosphere and lower thermosphere”,Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 69, Issues 17-18, December 2007, Pages 2219-2237
12. “Tidal pattern instabilities on multi-moon planets”, Icarus, Volume 189, Issue 1, July 2007, Pages 246-255
13. “History of the earth's obliquity”, Earth-Science Reviews, Volume 34, Issue 1, March 1993, Pages 1-45
14. “The earliest past of the Earth-Moon system”, Icarus, Volume 11, Issue 2, September 1969, Pages 189-207
15. “On the librations and tides of large icy satellites”, Icarus, Volume 226, Issue 1, September/October 2013, Pages 299-315
16. “Parameterization of bottom friction under combined wave-tide action in the Hooghly estuary, India”, Ocean Engineering, Volume 43, April 2012, Pages 43-55
17. “Lunar tides in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere over Cachoeira Paulista (22.7 deg S; 45.0 deg W)”, Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volumes 78-79, April 2012, Pages 31-36
18. “Cycles in the scaling properties of length-of-day variations”, Journal of Geodynamics, Volume 49, Issue 2, March 2010, Pages 105-110
19. “High resolution mapping of Earth tide response based on GPS data in Japan”, Journal of Geodynamics, Volume 48, Issues 3-5, December 2009, Pages 253-259
20. “Ocean tidal effects on Earth rotation”, Journal of Geodynamics, Volume 48, Issues 3-5, December 2009, Pages 219-225
21. “The Earth/Moon system during the late heavy bombardment period - Geochemical support for impacts dominated by comets”, Icarus, Volume 204, Issue 2, December 2009, Pages 368-380
A specific example extracted from the abstract of a typical study:
Earth-Science Reviews
Volume 97, Issues 1–4, December 2009, Pages 59–79
Tides, tidalites, and secular changes in the Earth–Moon system
Christopher L. Coughenoura, , Allen W. Archerb, , Kenneth J. Lacovarac, ,
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Abstract
… Only with Newton's theory of gravitation in the 17th century was the correlation between lunar cycles and tides partially explained. Further work by Laplace and others resulted in a more dynamic theory that more closely matched observations and allowed for better prediction of local tidal behavior. Quantitative models derived from these methods have increased in precision and complexity (particularly with the advent of the electronic computer), and have allowed new insights into the nature of tidal dynamics and tidal dissipation.
… The partial reconstruction of the history of lunar recession from existing data and analyses indicates that the Earth is presently experiencing a high rate of tidal dissipation.