Summer in New Zealand 2015 - Why are we having such an Awesome One?

 Summer in New Zealand 2015

Why are we having such an Awesome One?

•       Purpose of Ocean Currents

•       World wide Currents

•       Local Currents

•       How they Affect New Zealand

•       Our summer!!

Worldwide Ocean Currents and Their Purpose

• —  Our oceans are crucial to heating our  planet – help to distribute it
• Act like a conveyor belt distributing water from equators to poles and back – usually clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and anticlockwise in the south, as well as often following the coastlines
• Regulate global climate – helps to regulate uneven distribution of of solar radiation reaching earth’s surface. Otherwise temperatures would be much more extreme at the Poles and the Equator

— For example the  Gulf stream current  which originates from Florida, gives Great Britain, including Ireland, its warmth

Ocean Current Temperature

— Our climate changes are not only caused by conditions in the atmosphere. The top few metres of the ocean can store as much heat as the entire atmosphere, and relatively small changes in ocean circulation can move vast amounts of heat around the planet

— 
Results include changes in animal habitats, more extreme weather incidences and the bleaching of coral reefs thus reducing their growth and habitats for many ocean creatures

Currents Which Affect Us

•       New Zealand lies in the path of eastward-flowing currents, which are driven by winds that blow across the South Pacific Ocean

•       These winds – the south-east trades to the north, and the roaring forties to the south – drive water along the equator, down Australia’s east coast in the East Australian Current, and across the Tasman Sea

•       Bathed by relatively warm water from the subtropics, New Zealand has a temperate climate

What is affecting our Summer Today

• —  Sea surface temperatures across the equatorial Pacific Ocean are borderline
  
  between neutral and weak El Niño conditions
• Sea Surface Temperatures around New Zealand are forecast to be in the above normal range all around the country
• Temperatures are most likely (50% chance) to be in the above average range
• Rainfall totals are most likely (45% chance) to be in the near-normal range

          Niwa – Seasonal Climate Outlook February to April 2015

Conclusion

Changes in climate are not only caused by conditions in the atmosphere – ocean currents have a massive impact as they regulate the global climate

— Bathed by relatively warm water from the subtropics via the East Australian current, New Zealand has a temperate climate

— El Niño and La Niña are weather patterns that occur every 3–7 years in the tropical Pacific Ocean and which affect us

— We are borderline between neutral and weak El Niño conditions resulting in slightly higher temperatures

Carry on having an Awesome Summer!!