Tasman Sea

Tasman Sea, arm of the S Pacific Ocean between Australia and New Zealand; named for Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. Sydney, Australia, is the largest city on the sea.

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Tasman Sea

Part of the South Pacific Ocean, between southeastern Australia and western New Zealand. About 1,400 mi (2,250 km) wide, it has maximum depths exceeding 17,000 ft (5,200 m) in the Tasman Basin. Explored by Abel Janszoon Tasman in 1642 and by Capt. James Cook in the 1770s, it is notoriously stormy. Economic resources include fisheries and petroleum deposits.

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Tasman Sea

the part of the Pacific between SE Australia and NW New Zealand

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Tasman Sea 

a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean; situated between Australia and Tasmania to the west, and the islands of New Zealand, Norfolk, and New Caledonia, to the east. In the north, the Tasman Sea is separated from the Coral Sea by an uplift in the ocean floor and by several coral islands and reefs. In the southwest, Bass Strait connects it with the Indian Ocean.

The Tasman Sea has depths to 5,466 m. Its central part is crossed by a submerged mountain ridge 100–300 m high. The average surface water temperature ranges from 22°C in the north to 9°C in the south in winter (August) and from 25°C in the north to 15°C in the south in summer (February). The water has a salinity of 35 to 35.5 parts per thousand. Tides measure up to 5.3 m and are semidiurnal. Among the fishes found in the Tasman Sea are flying fish, swordfish, and tuna. The sea’s major ports are Sydney, Brisbane, and Newcastle in Australia and Auckland and New Plymouth in New Zealand.

The Tasman Sea was named in honor of A. Tasman.