TASMAN FRONT

Detailed and repeated vertical temperature sections obtained in August 1975 across the Tasman Front (previously called the Mid Tasman Convergence) show the front to be more sharply defined than previously thought. Velocities in the associated frontal jet up to 0.65 m.s‐1and isopycnal slopes in the front of up to 8 × 10‐3 were observed. The repeated sections showed only small frontal movement in a 2‐week period. Re‐examination of available data in the Tasman Front region shows high spatial and temporal variability in the front. Part of the variability is shown to be topographically induced, particularly on the western flanks of the two major ridge systems. Other contributing processes are largely unknown, although some of the variability probably arises from the highly variable East Australian Current system from which the front is thought to derive. Seasonal changes in frontal intensity may occur and the appearance of the front as a surface feature in winter can be related to seasonal changes in the upper layer. Dynamic heights of the sea surface are highly correlated to subsurface temperature at 250 m in all seasons. © 1979 Taylor & Francis Group, Ltd.