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Abstract

Macquarie Island lies close to, but on the eastern side of the boundary between the eastern (pacific) and
western (India-Australia) limbs of the Southern Oscillation. Its temperature record matches that of the area east and southeast of New Zealand, rather than Tasmania. Temperature is influenced by atmospheric pressures in the Southern Ocean to the east and west, which can result in a warm northeasterly or cold southerly airflow over the island. It is a sensitive indicator of climatic trends because of its location at high latitude in a longitudinal region of frequent ridge formation and blocking in the Southern Hemisphere circulation.
Temperature records for Macquarie Island (1949-86) show a trend (twice the global average), accelerating in the last 20 years with eight of the ten warmest years occuring in the last decade. The greatest average rate of warming has occurred in late summer and early autumn and the lowest in spring. In severe ENSO years the island cools. The warming is marked, in relation to the annual mean (4.8°C), and the biological effects should be considered.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Adamson, DA and Whetton, P and Selkirk, PM
Keywords:	Royal Society of Tasmania, RST, Van Diemens Land, natural history, science, ecology, taxonomy, botany, zoology, geology, geography, papers & proceedings, Australia, UTAS Library
Journal or Publication Title:	Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
ISSN:	0080-4703
DOI / ID Number:	https://doi.org/10.26749/rstpp.122.1.107
Collections:	Royal Society Collection > Papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
Additional Information:	Copyright Royal Society of Tasmania
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

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