Thread: westwind's holiday observation, ( 1 ).

WINTER HOLIDAY. Victoria's South West Coastal Regine. Very cold, 3.0 degree Celcius low, 13 degree Celcius high. I like pain so inflict this holiday on myself and others every mid-winter. brurrr. Open fire places suitable for bum warming one of the attractions. Old Pubs serving hot lunches of real food the other. But, to the observation. We stay on a Tidal Esturary. Locally called the river Moyne, but it is only a tidal esturary, say one mile inland. The Fishing fleet use a sheltered wharf just inside the Entrance. Now that I'm a Member of The Sience Forum I can safely seek the right answer to what I have observed. In the high Summer Season, ( also have holidayed in Summer ), there is a marked difference in height between low tidal readings and high tidal readings. Lets say one and a half metres. ( at point of observation ). Two tides a day. But in mid-winter, ie, last week, tidal variation no more than 30 cms from the full high tide mark. Constantly this situation over the three days I was observing. A local inquiry brought forward the statement--- it's the cold water coming up from Antartica, End Quote. I never argue with Locals. But no, says I to myself, that's not right. Global Warming in the middle of winter may have got my interest, but only for a nano-second. No, this must be something to do with the winter tilt of the Earth's axis, Southern Hemisphere Winter. And perhaps the Latitude I am making these observations. Is this a common Phenonomen, minimum tidal variation at defined intervals depending on the Seasons? westwind.

Tidal variations (difference between low and high tide) vary monthly, peaking at New and Full Moon, with a minimum at the quarters. In addition, the magnitude varies due to the eccentricity of the lunar orbit, with it being highest when the New and full moons occur near perigee, and lower on months when apogee occurs then. Of course the precise timing is critical, as well as the exact distance of perigee and apogee which constantly vary; that's why the high tide a few months before the Titanic sinking was the highest in thousands of years.

Currents can also affect the levels, but they would raise or lower the mean value in general, not change the high-low amplitude.

Storms and sustained high pressure can throw a short term monkey wrench in the whole thing with sustained onshore or offshore winds, or a storms surge; but they are generally short term, and you certainly know when there's a storm.

Surely the big difference you need to identify first in a tidal estuary between wet and dry seasons isn't how much water comes in from seawards.

It's how much water is in the system - soils, pools, streams, bogs - all day, every day during dry seasons and wet seasons.

Dear adelady. As I stated, I try not to criticise locals. Your Post(e) to my Thread on observed tidal ranges in the Moyne estuary, ( summer/winter ), is, I believe supportive in the form of seeking a reason for my observation(s). At the risk of being ungrateful for your interest, your Post(e) this time I determine as being light weight. There. I've at last not given a " Like ". Be gentle with me adelady. But, on reflection of what you have called forth to explain perhaps the possible contributing factors for my tidal observations, I'm sure you will ask me for a withdrawal of your ideas and you will come back with a much more appreciated Post(e). A Monday morning reflection? By the way adelady I would appreciate you letting me know when the Peak Season of Wine Tasting in the State of Wine and Roses is at hand. Surely not the weekend just passed? I'm a bit fragile at the moment adelady, pls do not put the boot in. westwind.

Wine tasting in South Australia?

Every day. Every where. Depends what you're looking for.

......... and now I have something I can really thank you for. I could never understand the "Welcome to the Southern Flinders Ranges Wine Region" sign I passed every time I drove up to visit my husband when he was working in the mid North a couple of years ago. Never heard of such a wine region. Never heard of any wines either. Why would you when the 50+ wineries of the Clare Valley are 20-30 minutes down the R M Williams Way?

Now I know. They grow grapes for Clare and Barossa wineries (so does just about everyone, everywhere) and they've got 4 named wineries so far. Whoop de doo. Four whole wineries. If I climbed on my roof with a telescope I could probably see more than that from here.

As for a peak season. There are all the festivals - that's what we do here, and some of the wine festivals coincide with the major autumn arts festival season. If you're keen on cycle racing you could come over for the Tour Down Under - and accidentally overstay in Clare for a few days and nights when the bikes are long gone. But summer here can be killingly hot if you're not used to it. The Barossa can feel like an oven if the heat gets going. Clare usually cools down overnight.

Or you can go by your taste in wine. If you like big strong reds, go for Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Clare and Barossa as your first options. Adelaide Plains area produces good wines, but as a local I find the area uninteresting. Could be different for visitors. But for goodness sake, stay away from the really big wineries (particularly in the Barossa/Eden Valleys). Those big buses moving in and out of the carparks make it look like shunting time at the cattleyards. Though ..... one thing I'd heartily recommend to even a teetotaller would be the Jacob's Creek wetland conservation area despite the turmoil of bus-loads of people arriving and leaving. Just make sure you spend more time there than the normal bus tour guide would provide. Preferably a whole day.

For cooler climate whites, you can try Clare - reisling is still one of my all time favourite white wines. I loathe those overly oaked chardonnays, fortunately the rest of the world seems to be moving on from that fad. (Straight to sauvignon blanc? Oh, well. I blame Chinese food.) Fleurieu Peninsula is good - and some people in this region do fruit wines as well. Can't see why, unless it's to have any point of difference from other winemakers. Adelaide Hills whites are superb - but I might be biased. A friend's brother is a winemaker there - and he got some kind of world championship a while ago. Drinking his stuff probably spoils you for life.

Peak season for you would be peak time for drinking your preferred wine style. Or for combining with some other activity. Cabaret festival in June - any wine region you fancy on your travels. Whale watching at Victor Harbor? Fleurieu & McLaren Vale. Arts/ Fringe / Comedy festivals - anywhere you can get a booking, it can be hectic.

The tidal force produced by a massive object (Moon, hereafter) on a small particle located on or in an extensive body (Earth, hereafter) is the vector difference between the gravitational force exerted by the Moon on the particle, and the gravitational force that would be exerted on the particle if it were located at the Earth's center of mass. Thus, the tidal force depends not on the strength of the lunar gravitational field, but on its gradient (which falls off approximately as the inverse cube of the distance to the originating gravitational body).^[27][28] The solar gravitational force on the Earth is on average 179 times stronger than the lunar, but because the sun is on average 389 times farther from the Earth, its field gradient is weaker. The solar tidal force is 46% as large as the lunar.^[29] More precisely, the lunar tidal acceleration (along the moon-Earth axis, at the Earth's surface) is about 1.1 × 10⁻⁷ g, while the solar tidal acceleration (along the sun-Earth axis, at the Earth's surface) is about 0.52 × 10⁻⁷ g, where g is the gravitational acceleration at the Earth's surface.^[30] Venus has the largest effect of the other planets, at 0.000113 times the solar effect.

from: Tide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(wild guess du jour) in your winter, some of the ocean's water is headed north

Yep, I like this Post(e) sculptor, this is the real McCoy. ( For younger Members read Hop-a-long Cassidy. ). Now this had better be right sculptor, as I will be setting up an experiment based on the material you have sighted for me. Though I am better at determining the inner heat needed to prepare delicious beef sausages for eating, and selecting the tastiest tomatoes, you will be surprised at the answers I come up with here. Once I put my mind to a project that project better watch out. We will share the Methods used in this research. Who knows, it is only by coming to grips with a theory in a practical sense that Science can be made. Thank you once again. More anon. westwind.

Oops, I forgot Currency Creek wines if you're on the south coast for whale watching - or any other reason.

Here's a full list of regions on the left margin with more details of some regions in the main article.

Wine Regions - South Australia - South Australia. A brilliant blend.

Great Site adelady. Cycling from Cellar to Cellar in the Clare Valley? Surely you jest adelady. Must be a lot of bikes thrown into the vineyards after the fourth Cellar. Than again, I can understand the South Australians going for and supporting the local industries. I accidently drank some tap water during my visit to Adelaide. But back to Tide Levels in the Moyne Estury. That local bloke told me that it was the cold water from Antartica that maintained the high Tidal levels along the South Coast during the Southern Winter. I dismissed the idea at first. On reflection there maybe something in this. sculptor threw in that warmer water moved northwoods during Winter, allowing the colder water to move in and control Tidal heights. I will find out if the colder water is more dense and therefore heavier, controlling the ebbing tide movement from water wanting to leave the Estury. The denser water being held in shore by prevailing South Westerly and South wind weather, resisting the Outflow. Resulting in small Tidal Movement when these weather conditions prevail. westwind.

It sure would be nice of you had any scientifcally measured tidal records to support this.

Winds and barometric pressure differences can have a pretty significant effect on observed tides; does Southern Australia get both during the winder months?

For Lynx Fox. Thanks for the Post. Yes to both queries. Southern Victoria has an exposed Coast to cold Winter Winds from the South. ( read Antartica ). Tasmania in the Winter requires some resolve. Cold Southerlies hit Tasmanias West Coast and are diverted to a certain extent straight onto Victorias South Coastal Regions, including Melbourne. Barometric pressures drop below 1000 whatevers several times over winter. we also have High Pressure Systems passing from West to East, and, depending on the Latitudes involved play a part in the amount and type of cold weather experienced. If our High Pressure Systems are coming through at higher Latitudes, say 30 degree, as against '' normal ''' SAY 45 degrees, then Cold airstreams come up from the South more regularly. In this situation snow falls on our higher ranges in the North East of the State, our Catchment Areas, and if we really are lucky !! it can snow within 30 miles of Melbourne. It has snowed in Melbourne but not many are alive to tell the tale. I have researched a Site on Google "" Quote, Antarctic Bottom Water (oceanography) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia End Quote. Found this Site informative. Tried to email my interest back to the Site, as solicitated, but had no luck. If you are still interested in what I had to say to the Site I will oblige in another Post. westwind.

While I'm hot to trot I'll add to my progressive thinking on this Thread. After researching some locally available information ( a well researched Australian High School standard Atlas), I've assembled some thoughts, had a think about them , looked for the Logic contained therein, and now, I am about to Enchant this Forum with what I have come up with. No direct Quotes, Sites, or References other than those already mentioned. Theres an old saying which I have just thought up which goes something like this, "" If you can't row a boat without oars than you are not likely to get anywhere """ Now you can attribute that to westwind. Carrying oars around with you all the time is bloody inconvienent, so like a road maintenance worker who needs his shovel to lean on....


Antartic Bottom Water, enriched with nutrients, sinks from the Weedell (sic) Ice Shelf during cold weather conditions( read Southern Winter ), and causes movement of the seas of the Southern Ocean northwards. Wamer, comparativly, sea currents in top layers of this movement north. In support of my observations at the River Moyne Estury at Port Fairy, Victoria, this movement north hits the Southern Coastline of Victoria with slightly higher and denser sea water. If weather is in support of this Winter Sea Movement the on shore effect of higher Tidal flows can be identified by Tide Charts for Local Areas. We are not talking about metres here in high Tidal readings. What I found to be significant was the Tidal observed movement in the Estury. Difference between High Tide and Low Tide in July/August is measurable in centimetres, say averageing over several days of continuing favourable weather to be about 30 centimetres. When this seawater is about the coast at the time of the year stated, the actual conditions that are in place can be verified by something out of left field. Co-incidently?? No. It's whale Time. And why is it time for the whales to appear? You are right. Those Bottom Waters from the Weddell Sea Shelf, those nutrient ladden waters, have surged uo when they hit the Southern Australian Coastline. Surprise, surprise. The Whales are on their annual migration, knowing all the while where they can scoop up a feed, fatten up on their way to their calving grounds in Shark Bay National Park off the West Australian Coast. I'm very pleased with myself for nutting this out, old westwind is now off to enjoy a long brandy and ginger ale while his fellow Members have a look at this and it will be interesting to see what they make of it. Basic I know, but I am a Poet and a Writer, not an Earth Scientist. Perhaps we should swap some disciplines on this Forum. westwind.