Editing Tasman Sea

{{short description|Marginal sea of the South Pacific between Australia and New Zealand}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox sea
| name    = Tasman Sea<br/>
| other_name         = 
| image   =
| caption = 
|alt =
|image_map={{maplink|frame-coord= {{Coord|35.3|S|164|E}}|zoom=3|frame=yes|frame-align=center|plain=yes|frame-width=260|frame-height=310|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Tasman Sea}}
}}
| image_bathymetry = Tasman Sea.jpg
| alt_bathymetry = Map of the Tasman Sea
| caption_bathymetry = Map of the Tasman Sea
| location = Western Pacific Ocean
| type    = Sea
| inflow  = 
| outflow = 
| catchment = 
| basin_countries = Australia, New Zealand
| length  = {{convert|2800|km|abbr=on}}
| width   = {{convert|2200|km|abbr=on}}
| area    = {{convert|2300000|km2|abbr=on}}
| depth = 
| max-depth = 
| volume = 
| residence_time = 
| salinity = 
| shore = 
| temperature_high = 
| temperature_low = 
| frozen = 
| coords ={{Coord|40|S|160|E|type:waterbody_scale:10000000|display=ti}}
| islands = [[Lord Howe Island]], [[Norfolk Island]]
| trenches = 
| benches = [[Lord Howe Rise]]
| cities = [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]], [[Sydney]], [[Wollongong]], [[Hobart]] (Australia) <br>
[[Auckland]], [[Wellington]], [[New Plymouth]], [[Whanganui]] (New Zealand)
}}

[[File:Tasman sea.jpg|thumb|Satellite photo of the Tasman Sea]]

The '''Tasman Sea''' is a [[marginal sea]] of the [[South Pacific Ocean]], situated between [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]]. It measures about {{convert|2000|km|mi|abbr=on}} across and about {{convert|2800|km|mi|abbr=on}} from north to south.  The sea was named after the Dutch explorer [[Abel Janszoon Tasman]], who in 1642 was the first known person to cross it.  British explorer Lieutenant [[James Cook]] later extensively navigated the Tasman Sea in the 1770s during his three voyages of exploration.<ref name=EB>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Tasman-Sea|title=Tasman Sea|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref>

The [[Māori people]] of New Zealand call this sea ''Te Moana-a-Rehua'' meaning 'the sea of Rehua' which clashes with the Pacific waters named ''Te Tai-o-Whitirea'' ('the sea of Whitirea') –after Whitirea, Rehua's lover– at [[Cape Reinga]] northernmost tip of [[North Island]].<ref name="Nat">{{Cite magazine|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/TAH196106.2.22|title=Te Rerenga Wairua - Leaping Places of the Spirits|date=Jun 1961|magazine=Te Ao Hou|last=Mitcalfe|first=Barry|pages=38-42|publisher=[[Maori Affairs Department]] New Zealand}}</ref>

==Climate==
The south of the sea is passed over by depressions going from west to east. The northern limit of these westerly winds is near to [[40th parallel south|40°S]]. During the southern winter, from April to October, the northern branch of these winds from the west changes its direction toward the north and goes up against [[trade winds]]. Hence, the sea receives frequent winds from the southwest during this period. In the Australian summer (from November to March), the southern branch of the trade winds goes up against west winds and produces further wind activity in the area.{{Sfn|Rotschi|Lemasson|1967|p=54}}

==Geography==
The Tasman Sea is {{convert|2250|km|abbr=on}} wide and has an area of {{convert|2300000|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref name=EB/> The maximum depth of the sea is {{convert|5943|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_5/b_fdi_10-11/11746.pdf|title=Depth of the sea|access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref> 
The base of the sea is made up of [[globigerina]] ooze. A small zone of pteropod ooze is found to the south of [[New Caledonia]] and to the southern extent of [[30th parallel south|30°S]], [[siliceous ooze]] can be found.{{Sfn|Rotschi|Lemasson|1967|p=51}}

===Extent===
The [[International Hydrographic Organization]] defines the limits of the Tasman Sea as:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|title=Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition|year=1953|publisher=[[International Hydrographic Organization]]|page=36|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref>

{{quote|''On the West'' A line from [[Gabo Island]] (near [[Cape Howe]], 37°30'S) to the northeast point of East Sister Island (148°E), thence along the [[148th meridian east|148th meridian]] to [[Flinders Island]]; beyond this island a line running to the eastward of the Vansittart Shoals to [Cape] [[Cape Barren Island|Barren Island]], and from Cape Barren (the easternmost point of [Cape] Barren Island) to Eddystone Point (41°S) in Tasmania, thence along the east coast to [[South East Cape]], the southern point of Tasmania.

''On the North'' The [[30th parallel south|parallel of 30°S]] from the Australian coast eastward as far as a line joining the east extremities of [[Elizabeth Reef]] and South East Rock ({{Coord|31|47|S|159|18|E}}) then to the southward along this line to the South East Rock [an outlier of [[Lord Howe Island]]].

''On the Northeast'' From the South East Rock to the north point of [[Three Kings Islands]] ({{Coord|34|10|S|172|10|E}}), thence to [[North Cape, New Zealand|North Cape]] in New Zealand.

''On the East''
*In [[Cook Strait]]. A line joining the south extreme of the foul ground off [[Cape Palliser]] ([[Ngawi, New Zealand|Ngawi]]) and the [[Cape Campbell Lighthouse|Lighthouse on Cape Campbell]] (Te Karaka).
*In [[Foveaux Strait]] (46°45'S). A line joining the light on [[Waipapa Point|Waipapapa Point]] {{sic}} (168°33'E) with East Head (47'02'S) of [[Stewart Island / Rakiura|Stewart Island (Rakiura)]].

''On the Southeast'' A line running from [[South West Cape, New Zealand|South West Cape]], Stewart Island, through the Snares (48°S, 166°30'E) to North West Cape, [[Auckland Island]] ({{Coord|50|30|S|166|10|E}}), through this island to its southern point.

''On the South'' A line joining the southern point of Auckland Island ({{Coord|50|55|S|166|0|E}}) to South East Cape, the southern point of Tasmania.}}

===Ridge===
[[File:2009 Victorian bushfires smoke plume over NZ.jpg|thumb|Smoke from the [[Black Saturday bushfires]] crosses the southern Tasman Sea]]
The Tasman Sea's [[midocean ridge]] developed between 85 and 55 million years ago as Australia and [[Zealandia (continent)|Zealandia]] broke apart during the breakup of [[supercontinent]] [[Gondwana]]. It lies roughly midway between the continental margins of Australia and Zealandia. Much of Zealandia is submerged, so the ridge runs much closer to the Australian coast than New Zealand's.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Extinct mid-ocean ridges in the Tasman sea and in the Western Pacific|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters|volume=6|issue=6|pages=483–490|doi=10.1016/0012-821X(69)90120-4|year=1969|last1=Van Der Linden|first1=Willem J.M|bibcode=1969E&PSL...6..483V}}</ref>

===Islands===
The Tasman Sea features a number of midsea island groups, quite apart from coastal islands located near the Australian and New Zealand mainlands:
* [[Lord Howe Island]] (part of New South Wales)<ref>{{cite web|title=Lord Howe Island, Tasman Sea, Australia|url=http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/oldroot/volcanoes/volc_images/australia/balls_pyramid/howe.html|website=volcano.oregonstate.edu|access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref>
* [[Ball's Pyramid]] (part of New South Wales)<ref>{{cite web|title=Ball's Pyramid|url=https://unusualplaces.org/balls-pyramid/|website=Unusual Places|access-date=23 April 2018|date=5 September 2013}}</ref>

===Adjoining bodies of water===
* North: [[Coral Sea]]<ref>{{cite journal|last1=van der Linden|first1=Willem J. M.|title=Morphology of the Tasman sea floor|journal= New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics|date=Jan 2012|volume=13|issue=1|pages=282–291|doi=10.1080/00288306.1970.10428218|doi-access=free}}</ref>
* Northeast and East: Pacific Ocean
* East: [[Cook Strait]]
* South and southeast: [[Southern Ocean]]
* West: [[Bass Strait]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Mysterious ocean feature found in Tasman Sea|url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2012/02/mysterious-ocean-feature-found-in-tasman-sea|website=Australian Geographic|access-date=23 April 2018|language=en|date=24 February 2012}}</ref>

==Currents==
The [[East Australian Current]] that commences its flow southwards in the tropics of the Coral Sea, near the eastern coast of Australia is the most energetic circulation feature in the south western Pacific Ocean and is a primary means of heat transport from the tropics to the middle latitudes between Australia and New Zealand.<ref name="Bull2018">{{cite journal|last1 =Bull|first1 =C.Y.|last2 =Kiss|first2=A.E.|last3 =van Sebille|first3 =E.|last4 =Jourdain|first4 =N.C.|last5 =England|first5 =M.H.|year= 2018|title = The role of the New Zealand Plateau in the Tasman Sea circulation and separation of the East Australian Current|journal =Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans|volume =123|issue =2|pages =1457–1470|doi =10.1002/2017JC013412|doi-access =free|bibcode =2018JGRC..123.1457B|hdl =1885/203237|hdl-access =free}}</ref>{{rp|p=1458}} The East Australian Current is a return of the westward-flowing Pacific Equatorial Current (Pacific [[South Equatorial Current]]).<ref name="Sutherland2022">{{cite journal|last1 =Sutherland|first1 =R.|last2 =Dos Santos|first2 =Z.|last3 =Agnini|first3 =C.|last4 =Alegret|first4 =L.|last5 =Lam|first5 =A.R.|last6 =Westerhold|first6 =T.|last7 =Drake|first7 =M.K.|last8 =Harper|first8 =D.T.|last9 =Dallanave|first9 =E.|last10 =Newsam|first10 =C.|last11 =Cramwinckel|first11 =M.J.|year =2022|title =Neogene mass accumulation rate of carbonate sediment across northern Zealandia, Tasman Sea, southwest Pacific|journal =Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology|volume =37|issue =2|page =e2021PA004294|doi =10.1029/2021PA004294|doi-access =free|bibcode =2022PaPa...37.4294S}}{{rp|loc=Section 2. Tasman Sea Setting}}</ref> At the juncture between the Tasman and Coral seas while the East Australian Current continues south in the western Tasman a branch flows east called the [[Tasman Front]] towards the north of New Zealand with most continuing eastward above New Zealand into the South Pacific Ocean.<ref name="Sutherland2022" /> It transpires that while predominantly the location of westerly wind stress is a factor in how far north the formation of the Tasman Front occurs, so is the presence of the New Zealand land mass, as the top of New Zealand defines the furtherest south that the Tasman Front can be split off by the westerly winds.<ref name="Bull2018" />{{rp|1457,1467–8}} A boundary current called the East Auckland Current goes down the west coast of the North Island and further south the East Cape Current, that has been diverted towards the South Island by the shapes of the Lord Howe Rise and southern east coast of the North island continues to the south.<ref name="Bull2018" />{{rp|pp=1458}}<ref name="Sutherland2022" /> The East Australian Current south of Tasmania also is diverted west in the Subtropical Front which collides with the western moving Subantarctic front of the [[Antarctic Circumpolar Current]].<ref name="Sutherland2022" /> The East Australian Current sheds eddies on its way south that move south-westward with some known as the Tasman Leakage making it as far westward as the Indian Ocean.<ref name="Bull2018" />{{rp|pp=1458}}

==Animal and plant life==
A deep-sea research ship, the [[RV Tangaroa|RV ''Tangaroa'']], explored the sea and found 500 species of fish and 1300 species of invertebrates. The tooth of a [[megalodon]], an extinct shark, was also found by researchers.<ref name="Species in tasman sea">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/tasman-sea-produces-freaky-species-1.388818|publisher=[[CBC News]]|date=30 June 2003|title=Tasman Sea produces freaky species|access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref>

==History==

In 1876, the first [[telegraph]] cable connecting Australia and New Zealand was laid in the Tasman Sea.<ref name="EvolvingAuckland8.4">{{Cite book| editor-first=John| editor-last=La Roche |editor-link=John La Roche |title=Evolving Auckland: The City's Engineering Heritage |year=2011 |publisher=Wily Publications |chapter=COMPAC Submarine Telephone Cable System |first1=Neil |last1=Mander |pages=195–202 |isbn=9781927167038}}</ref> The telegraph cable was made obsolete in 1963 when the [[Commonwealth Pacific Cable System|Commonwealth Pacific Cable]], New Zealand's first international telephone cable, was completed.<ref name="ttc">{{cite web |url=https://www.engineeringnz.org/programmes/heritage/heritage-register/trans-tasman-telegraph-cable-numbers-1-and-2/ |title=Trans-Tasman Telegraph Cable Numbers 1 and 2 |website=Engineering New Zealand |access-date=24 May 2023 }}</ref>  [[Moncrieff and Hood]] were the first to attempt a [[trans-Tasman]] crossing by plane in January 1928.  The aviators were never seen or heard of again. The first successful flight over the sea was accomplished by [[Charles Kingsford Smith]] and [[Charles Ulm]] later that year. The first person to row solo across the sea was [[Colin Quincey]] in 1977. The next successful solo crossing was completed by his son, Shaun Quincey, in 2010.<ref name="kbsp">{{Cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/kiwi-becomes-second-person-to-row-across-the-tasman-sea-scvshxljsms|title=Kiwi becomes second person to row across the Tasman Sea |author=Anne Barrowclough |access-date=28 September 2024|date=14 March 2010 |newspaper=Times Online |publisher=Times Newspapers |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Oceans}}
* [[Axis naval activity in New Zealand waters]]
* [[Tasman Abyssal Plain]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{citation |last1=Rotschi|first1=H.|last2=Lemasson|first2= L.|title=Oceanography of the Coral and Tasman Seas |year=1967|publisher=Oceanogr Marine Biol Ann Rev|asin=B00KJ0X6D4|url=http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_5/b_fdi_10-11/11746.pdf}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Tasman Sea}}
*[https://schmidtocean.org/cruise/tracking-the-tasman-seas-hidden-tide/ Tracking the Tasman Sea's Hidden Tide] on [[Schmidt Ocean Institute]]

{{List of Australian seas}}
{{List of seas}}
{{Australia–New Zealand relations}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tasman Sea| ]]
[[Category:Coastline of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Australia–New Zealand border]]
[[Category:Coastline of Australia]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Australia]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Seas of Oceania]]