beach shelter new zealand image
Carolina
What is the weather like in Australia and New Zealand right now?
Answer
Australia is a large island continent in the southern hemisphere with a diverse range of climate zones. These vary from tropical regions in the north through the arid expanses of the interior to temperate regions in the south.
Seasonal fluctuations can be great with temperatures ranging from above 50 ° Celsius to well below zero. Minimum temperatures are moderated by the lack of mountains and the influence of surrounding oceans.
Australia is relatively arid, with 80% of the land having a rainfall less than 600 millimetres per year and 50% having even less than 300 millimetres.
Most Australians live near the wetter more moderate south eastern coasts primarily in major cities.
Australia is bisected by the tropic of Capricorn; much of Australia is closer to the equator than any part of the USA. Accordingly, the northern Australia enjoys a tropical climate, and southern Australia a temperate one.
The tropical states Queensland and the Northern Territory have highly predictable weather. In ``winter'', typical daily maximums are from 20 to 24 degrees Celsius (68 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit) and rain is rare. The beaches and tropical islands of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef are perhaps at their most pleasant at this time of year. Further south, the weather is less dependable; in Melbourne in August maximums as low as 13 (56F) degrees are possible, but can reach as high as 23 (72F) degrees.
In summer, the northern states are hotter and wetter, while the southern states are simply hotter, with temperatures up to 41 (105F) in Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne but generally between 25 and 33 - very pleasant indeed.
Snow is rare in the southernmost capitals Melbourne and Hobart, falling less than once every ten years, and in the other capitals it is unknown. However, there are extensive, well-developed ski fields in the Great Dividing Range, a few hours drive from Melbourne and Sydney. Late August marks the peak of the snow season, and the ski resorts are a popular destination; perhaps too popular for some tastes. An alternative skiing destination is New Zealand, which provides skiers with excellent snow and facilities at lower cost.
As for New Zealand, its climate is complex and varies from warm subtropical in the far north to cool temperate climates in the far south, with severe alpine conditions in the mountainous areas.
Mountain chains extending the length of New Zealand provide a barrier for the prevailing westerly winds, dividing the country into dramatically different climate regions. The West Coast of the South Island is the wettest area of New Zealand, whereas the area to the east of the mountains, just over 100 km away, is the driest.
Most areas of New Zealand have between 600 and 1600 mm of rainfall, spread throughout the year with a dry period during the summer. Over the northern and central areas of New Zealand more rainfall falls in winter than in summer, whereas for much of the southern part of New Zealand, winter is the season of least rainfall.
Mean annual temperatures range from 10°C in the south to 16°C in the north of New Zealand. The coldest month is usually July and the warmest month is usually January or February. In New Zealand generally there are relatively small variations between summer and winter temperatures, although inland and to the east of the ranges the variation is greater (up to 14°C). Temperatures also drop about 0.7°C for every 100 m of altitude.
Sunshine hours are relatively high in areas that are sheltered from the west and most of New Zealand would have at least 2000 hours annually. The midday summer solar radiation index (UVI) is often very high in most places and can be extreme in northern New Zealand and in mountainous areas. Autumn and spring UVI values can be high in most areas.
Most snow in New Zealand falls in the mountain areas. Snow rarely falls in the coastal areas of the North Island and west of the South Island, although the east and south of the South Island may experience some snow in winter. Frosts can occur anywhere in New Zealand and usually form on cold nights with clear skies and little wind.
Australia is a large island continent in the southern hemisphere with a diverse range of climate zones. These vary from tropical regions in the north through the arid expanses of the interior to temperate regions in the south.
Seasonal fluctuations can be great with temperatures ranging from above 50 ° Celsius to well below zero. Minimum temperatures are moderated by the lack of mountains and the influence of surrounding oceans.
Australia is relatively arid, with 80% of the land having a rainfall less than 600 millimetres per year and 50% having even less than 300 millimetres.
Most Australians live near the wetter more moderate south eastern coasts primarily in major cities.
Australia is bisected by the tropic of Capricorn; much of Australia is closer to the equator than any part of the USA. Accordingly, the northern Australia enjoys a tropical climate, and southern Australia a temperate one.
The tropical states Queensland and the Northern Territory have highly predictable weather. In ``winter'', typical daily maximums are from 20 to 24 degrees Celsius (68 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit) and rain is rare. The beaches and tropical islands of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef are perhaps at their most pleasant at this time of year. Further south, the weather is less dependable; in Melbourne in August maximums as low as 13 (56F) degrees are possible, but can reach as high as 23 (72F) degrees.
In summer, the northern states are hotter and wetter, while the southern states are simply hotter, with temperatures up to 41 (105F) in Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne but generally between 25 and 33 - very pleasant indeed.
Snow is rare in the southernmost capitals Melbourne and Hobart, falling less than once every ten years, and in the other capitals it is unknown. However, there are extensive, well-developed ski fields in the Great Dividing Range, a few hours drive from Melbourne and Sydney. Late August marks the peak of the snow season, and the ski resorts are a popular destination; perhaps too popular for some tastes. An alternative skiing destination is New Zealand, which provides skiers with excellent snow and facilities at lower cost.
As for New Zealand, its climate is complex and varies from warm subtropical in the far north to cool temperate climates in the far south, with severe alpine conditions in the mountainous areas.
Mountain chains extending the length of New Zealand provide a barrier for the prevailing westerly winds, dividing the country into dramatically different climate regions. The West Coast of the South Island is the wettest area of New Zealand, whereas the area to the east of the mountains, just over 100 km away, is the driest.
Most areas of New Zealand have between 600 and 1600 mm of rainfall, spread throughout the year with a dry period during the summer. Over the northern and central areas of New Zealand more rainfall falls in winter than in summer, whereas for much of the southern part of New Zealand, winter is the season of least rainfall.
Mean annual temperatures range from 10°C in the south to 16°C in the north of New Zealand. The coldest month is usually July and the warmest month is usually January or February. In New Zealand generally there are relatively small variations between summer and winter temperatures, although inland and to the east of the ranges the variation is greater (up to 14°C). Temperatures also drop about 0.7°C for every 100 m of altitude.
Sunshine hours are relatively high in areas that are sheltered from the west and most of New Zealand would have at least 2000 hours annually. The midday summer solar radiation index (UVI) is often very high in most places and can be extreme in northern New Zealand and in mountainous areas. Autumn and spring UVI values can be high in most areas.
Most snow in New Zealand falls in the mountain areas. Snow rarely falls in the coastal areas of the North Island and west of the South Island, although the east and south of the South Island may experience some snow in winter. Frosts can occur anywhere in New Zealand and usually form on cold nights with clear skies and little wind.
did Polynesian peoples visit and temporarily settle sub-antartic islands?
Kevin7
Answer
The Auckland Islands are considerably different than Norfolk and the Kermadecs. They are a sub-Antarctic archipelago, with a harsh, cold, windy climate, situated about 300 miles south of the South Island of New Zealand. Incredibly, evidence is emerging that prehistoric Polynesians voyaged to these islands on the edge of the Antarctic; a truly astounding feat of seamanship and endurance. Archaeologists are still uncovering the tenuous evidence for these most far-flung of the Polynesian discoverers, and as yet we know little about their settlement, which took place in the 13th and 14th centuries. There is one archaeological site at Sandy Bay on Enderby Island, a small island to the north of the main Auckland Island. Enderby has the best habitat of the archipelago, and is relatively sheltered from the prevailing winds. There is also easy access to nearby seal colonies. Various archaeological relics had been collected from Sandy Bay over the years, but excavations in the late 1990s by Atholl Anderson finally proved that the site had been occupied 600-700 years ago.
In the 19th century, during historic times, Polynesians once again settled in the Aucklands for about 20 years, this time arriving by European sailing ship. These were Taranaki Maoris from the Chatham Islands, accompanied by their Moriori slaves. This settlement was not successful, and the survivors were evacuated back to the South Island in the 1850s.
http://www.lanecc.edu/library/don/norfolk.htm#auckland
The only true archaeological monument of sub-Antarctic islands is Polynesian settlement in Sandy Bay, Enderby Island. Here was found Polynesian earth oven with bones of sea lions, birds. Nearby were found flakes of chert and basalt. Polynesians settled here around 1350 AD and lived for at least one year here - but possibly for a longer time period. http://www.wondermondo.com/Auckland.htm
The other area was at Sandy Bay, Enderby Island. A boulder beach ridge there reaches about 2.0m above mean HTM, and it is overlain by a 470m-long foredune up to 1.2m deep, the only substantial area of sand dunes in the archipelago. The dune contains discrete deposits of blackened sand and cultural items which occur as a single layer, generally 0.25m thick, but up to 0.5m, enclosed by lower and upper palaeosols (Figure 2). The lower of these has a maximum age of about 2800 BP (McFadgen & Yaldwyn 1984), and the upper palaeosol, formed after abandonment of prehistoric occupation but before nineteenth-century deforestation and the introduction of domestic stock and rabbits, led to partial remobilisation of the dunes. That process allowed deposition of bottle glass and fragments of clay tobacco pipes on exposed parts of the prehistoric layer (Anderson 2003a).
Excavation of 5.0[m.sup.2] site at area X (Figure 1) disclosed a Polynesian earth oven, 2m in diameter, containing basalt cobbles, charcoal and abundant midden of mussel shell, and sea lion and bird bone. Midden was sparse nearby, but flakes and cores of chert and basalt were relatively numerous, suggesting an adjacent processing area. Material from the cultural layer was screened to 3mm where the matrix was sandy, but where it was sticky clay-loam, which resisted water sieving, the material was spread out on plastic sheets and picked through carefully by hand.
Test pits showed that this site represents a single phase of occupation on an area of 70-100[m.sup.2]. A similar site of comparable size and contents is largely eroded out at area S, 180m to the east. An uneroded midden there, S5, was test excavated (0.5[m.sup.2]) and the deflated area around it shows that the site comprised a cluster of at least seven ovens and associated middens and flake tools. On its periphery were the oven (area C) and midden scatter (area A), investigated in 1998 (Anderson & O'Regan 2000).
Combined, areas A, C, S and X extend over about 250[m.sup.2]. Systematic coring and spade pits along the entire foredune revealed no other cultural deposits of prehistoric provenance. It is possible that an originally extensive site has been largely lost by water, wind and bioerosion, but as the distribution of flaked chert in deflated dune swales along the foredune correlates closely with the location of the present prehistoric deposits, it is more probable that prehistoric occupation was limited and brief.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3284/is_306_79/ai_n29232977/
The Auckland Islands are considerably different than Norfolk and the Kermadecs. They are a sub-Antarctic archipelago, with a harsh, cold, windy climate, situated about 300 miles south of the South Island of New Zealand. Incredibly, evidence is emerging that prehistoric Polynesians voyaged to these islands on the edge of the Antarctic; a truly astounding feat of seamanship and endurance. Archaeologists are still uncovering the tenuous evidence for these most far-flung of the Polynesian discoverers, and as yet we know little about their settlement, which took place in the 13th and 14th centuries. There is one archaeological site at Sandy Bay on Enderby Island, a small island to the north of the main Auckland Island. Enderby has the best habitat of the archipelago, and is relatively sheltered from the prevailing winds. There is also easy access to nearby seal colonies. Various archaeological relics had been collected from Sandy Bay over the years, but excavations in the late 1990s by Atholl Anderson finally proved that the site had been occupied 600-700 years ago.
In the 19th century, during historic times, Polynesians once again settled in the Aucklands for about 20 years, this time arriving by European sailing ship. These were Taranaki Maoris from the Chatham Islands, accompanied by their Moriori slaves. This settlement was not successful, and the survivors were evacuated back to the South Island in the 1850s.
http://www.lanecc.edu/library/don/norfolk.htm#auckland
The only true archaeological monument of sub-Antarctic islands is Polynesian settlement in Sandy Bay, Enderby Island. Here was found Polynesian earth oven with bones of sea lions, birds. Nearby were found flakes of chert and basalt. Polynesians settled here around 1350 AD and lived for at least one year here - but possibly for a longer time period. http://www.wondermondo.com/Auckland.htm
The other area was at Sandy Bay, Enderby Island. A boulder beach ridge there reaches about 2.0m above mean HTM, and it is overlain by a 470m-long foredune up to 1.2m deep, the only substantial area of sand dunes in the archipelago. The dune contains discrete deposits of blackened sand and cultural items which occur as a single layer, generally 0.25m thick, but up to 0.5m, enclosed by lower and upper palaeosols (Figure 2). The lower of these has a maximum age of about 2800 BP (McFadgen & Yaldwyn 1984), and the upper palaeosol, formed after abandonment of prehistoric occupation but before nineteenth-century deforestation and the introduction of domestic stock and rabbits, led to partial remobilisation of the dunes. That process allowed deposition of bottle glass and fragments of clay tobacco pipes on exposed parts of the prehistoric layer (Anderson 2003a).
Excavation of 5.0[m.sup.2] site at area X (Figure 1) disclosed a Polynesian earth oven, 2m in diameter, containing basalt cobbles, charcoal and abundant midden of mussel shell, and sea lion and bird bone. Midden was sparse nearby, but flakes and cores of chert and basalt were relatively numerous, suggesting an adjacent processing area. Material from the cultural layer was screened to 3mm where the matrix was sandy, but where it was sticky clay-loam, which resisted water sieving, the material was spread out on plastic sheets and picked through carefully by hand.
Test pits showed that this site represents a single phase of occupation on an area of 70-100[m.sup.2]. A similar site of comparable size and contents is largely eroded out at area S, 180m to the east. An uneroded midden there, S5, was test excavated (0.5[m.sup.2]) and the deflated area around it shows that the site comprised a cluster of at least seven ovens and associated middens and flake tools. On its periphery were the oven (area C) and midden scatter (area A), investigated in 1998 (Anderson & O'Regan 2000).
Combined, areas A, C, S and X extend over about 250[m.sup.2]. Systematic coring and spade pits along the entire foredune revealed no other cultural deposits of prehistoric provenance. It is possible that an originally extensive site has been largely lost by water, wind and bioerosion, but as the distribution of flaked chert in deflated dune swales along the foredune correlates closely with the location of the present prehistoric deposits, it is more probable that prehistoric occupation was limited and brief.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3284/is_306_79/ai_n29232977/
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Title Post: What is the weather like in Aussie?
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