Tasman Sea: location, climate, flora and fauna

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

The Tasman Sea, located in the southern hemisphere, is unique in many respects. This is the location, and the varying climate, and a very diverse flora and fauna. Let's analyze the main features of the reservoir, talk about the features of flora and fauna.

Location Features

Speaking about the location and answering the question of which ocean the Tasman Sea belongs to, it can be clearly defined that it is the most southern of the entire Pacific basin. The coasts of Australia and New Zealand are washed by the Tasman Sea.

Its position is unique, because the reservoir crosses several climatic zones. The issue of boundaries is also interesting. If you outline them from the north, then it will be the Australian state of New South Wales. But the extreme southern point is rather conditional: it is customary to call the Macquarie Range, as well as the western coast of New Zealand. What is it, the Tasman Sea: internal or marginal? From the geographical position it is clear that it is not one of them, but refers to interisland - those that are separated from the seas by a ridge of archipelagos.

If you look at the map,then you can see that the Tasman Sea is a large rhombus connecting two continents.

Not far from the Tasman Sea there is another one - the Coral Sea. It washes Australia and reaches the shores of New Guinea. Which sea is located to the north: Coral or Tasmanovo? Of course, the first. After all, Tasmanovo is the southernmost of all the Pacific. The seas are separated by numerous coral reefs, islands and a significant uplift of the bottom. Norfolk Island is the northernmost point of the border between the seas.

Features

The Tasman Sea is especially impressive for its characteristics. Its area is almost 3.5 million square kilometers.

The Tasman Sea is also impressive for its depth. In a place called the Tasman Basin, the depth reaches, and sometimes exceeds, six thousand meters.

There are a large number of islands on the sea. Perhaps the most famous of them is Tasmania, an island located 240 kilometers south of Australia. It is located on a geologically active site (scientists believe that Tasmania was once part of the Australian continent, however, it separated due to certain processes). Now it is the largest area of Australian reserves, because unique animals live there. The most famous is the Tasmanian devil.

It should also be said about Balls Pyramid Reef Island. It is a huge rock that rises almost 600 meters above sea level. Width - 200 meters.

The Tasman Sea hidesin itself islands with a unique indigenous population. So, only 400 people live on Lord Howe Island. This ancient island is located at an impressive distance from New Zealand.

It should also be said about the coastline. It has a smooth edging throughout. Thus, it is difficult to find bays or bays on the Tasman Sea. In coastal waters, the sandy bottom prevails, and at a depth the main rocks are clay and it is also mixed with sand.

Discovery history

Discovered the Tasman Sea in 1640 by Abel Tasman. The Dutch explorer-navigator arrived here before the famous James Cook by 100 years.

There was practically no information about this part of the World Ocean. People didn't even know what the mainland Australia was. Is it such or is it scattered islands. Tasman was the first to provide proof of the integrity of Australia, also discovered Tasmania, Fiji and New Zealand.

Fixed his conclusions a century later, James Cook. He outlined the eastern outlines of Australia, explored New Zealand in more detail. Thus, the Tasman Sea began to be fixed on the maps.

Climate

Three belts pass through the Tasman Sea: tropical, subtropical and temperate. They change from north to south. Accordingly, the climate differs depending on the zone.

Also weather conditions are affected by currents. Warm, for example, East Australian, helps the water to warm up to +26 degrees. Cool currents dominate in the southern part of the sea. They are so cold that they often bring pieces of icebergs. Thus, the water here is not particularly warm - only +5 - +9 degrees in winter.

The sea is characterized by abundant tides, which sometimes reach five meters. It is also distinguished by increased storm activity (to blame for the winds coming from the Pacific Ocean). Particularly different in this respect are 40-50-degree latitudes. But for the most part, shipping on the Tasman Sea is very favorable.

Inhabitants of the northern part

The location of the reservoir in several climatic zones, of course, affected its inhabitants. In the northern waters, where warming is quite high, tropical marine inhabitants live. Particularly notable among them are sharks, flying fish and mammals, mostly whales.

The Tasman Sea is home to a huge number of species of sharks, the great white stands out in particular. Many tourists are frightened by her massive fins towering above the water. The most daring visitors of the water area go down under the water in a specially equipped diving cage and enjoy these chilling inhabitants in their natural environment.

Flying fish are another unique creature that lives in the warm waters of the Tasman Sea. These fish are very impressive in size, sometimes reaching half a meter in length. Having four fins, they can jump out of the water for quite serious distances. The length of flight on the surface directly depends on the speed gained in the water column.

Of the cetaceans in the northern part of the Tasman Sea, killer whales are noted,sperm whales and minke whales. They did not appear here by chance - this is due to the settlement of zooplankton in the waters. Watching cetaceans feed in the wild is another popular activity for tourists.

Flora and fauna in the south

As for the southern regions of the reservoir, the climate here is temperate, therefore, algae grow in greater numbers than in the northern.

Cold currents do not affect the abundance of fish in the southern part of the reservoir. Predominantly schooling breeds live, so it gives the impression of a more massive accumulation of fish. Fisheries are widely developed here: they catch tuna, horse mackerel, mackerel, flounder and other species.