The location of Tasmania exposes the island to climate influences from the tropics and subtropics to the north and the Southern Ocean and Antarctica to the south. This presentation will identify the dominant climate drivers in the region and interpret how their interactions contribute to climate variability in Tasmania on seasonal, interannual and longer timescales. The distinction between climate and weather will be discussed.
Mike Pook is an Honorary Fellow at CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere. He worked as a meteorologist in Australia and Papua New Guinea before becoming a senior forecaster in Hobart and spent a summer at Casey in Antarctica. After completing a PhD at the University of Tasmania he became an academic, science communicator and administrator at the Antarctic CRC until taking up a research scientist position with CSIRO. Mike was ABC Tasmania’s TV weather presenter for approximately 18 years from 1985 to the end of 2002.
