Sea surface temperatures (SST) varies with location (generally warmer in the north and cooler in the south of New Zealand) and changes seasonally (warmer in summer and cooler in winter). Changes in sea surface temperatures are driven by wind causing major current and gyre formations as well as upwelling of deep water in addition to the influx of freshwater. Factors such as wind and wave mixing can bring colder water up, inflow of river water tends to be cooler than the sea in winter and warmer in summer, and coastal currents can bring warmer or colder water near to the coast. Sea surface temperatures influence both climate and weather in largescale events such as El Niño or smaller scale development of tropical cyclones as well as the health and distribution of marine life. Sea surface temperatures in NZ tend to range from ~8-23C. This layer uses long-term (2002–2017) average values at 250 m resolution blended from OI-SST (Reynolds et al., 2002) ocean product and MODIS-Aqua SST coastal product Pinkerton et al. (2018). To view a dynamic model of the change in SST along part of the South Island coast over 1 year see: https://vimeo.com/48991074

Reference:

Pinkerton, M.H. (2018). Ocean colour satellite observations of phytoplankton in the New Zealand EEZ, 1997–2018. NIWA report MFE18301-2018180WN, Prepared for Ministry

Reynolds, RW, Rayner, NA, Smith, TM, Stokes, DC, & Wang, W (2002). An improved in situ and satellite SST analysis for climate. Journal of Climate, 15: 1609-1625.

Sea surface temperatures (SST) varies with location (generally warmer in the north and cooler in the south of New Zealand) and changes seasonally (warmer in summer and cooler in winter). Changes in sea surface temperatures are driven by wind causing major current and gyre formations as well as upwelling of deep water in addition to the influx of freshwater. Factors such as wind and wave mixing can bring colder water up, inflow of river water tends to be cooler than the sea in winter and warmer in summer, and coastal currents can bring warmer or colder water near to the coast. Sea surface temperatures influence both climate and weather in largescale events such as El Niño or smaller scale development of tropical cyclones as well as the health and distribution of marine life. Sea surface temperatures in NZ tend to range from ~8-23C. This layer uses long-term (2002–2017) average values at 250 m resolution blended from OI-SST (Reynolds et al., 2002) ocean product and MODIS-Aqua SST coastal product Pinkerton et al. (2018). To view a dynamic model of the change in SST along part of the South Island coast over 1 year see: https://vimeo.com/48991074

Reference:

Pinkerton, M.H. (2018). Ocean colour satellite observations of phytoplankton in the New Zealand EEZ, 1997–2018. NIWA report MFE18301-2018180WN, Prepared for Ministry

Reynolds, RW, Rayner, NA, Smith, TM, Stokes, DC, & Wang, W (2002). An improved in situ and satellite SST analysis for climate. Journal of Climate, 15: 1609-1625.