Executive Summary
- A SEAFRAME gauge was installed in Lautoka, Fiji, in October 1992. It records sea level, air and water temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction. It is one of an array designed to monitor changes in sea level and climate in the Pacific.
- This report summarises the findings to date, and places them in a regional and historical context.
- The sea level trend to date is +2.5 mm/year but the magnitude of the trend continues to vary widely from month to month as the data set grows. Accounting for the precise levelling results and inverted barometric pressure effect, the trend is +1.7 mm/year. A nearby gauge, with longer records but less precision and datum control, shows a trend of +4.67 mm/year.
- Variations in monthly mean sea level include a moderate seasonal cycle and were affected by the 1997/1998 El Nino.
- Variations in monthly mean air and water temperature include more pronounced seasonal cycles and were likewise affected by the 1997/1998 El Nino.
- In 1993, 1997 and 2003 tropical cyclones caused widespread devastation in Fiji, including the main islands Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. The 1993 and 1997 cyclones were recorded as extreme low pressures on the SEAFRAME.
- The SEAFRAME at Lautoka, Fiji recorded a 0.2m high tsunami following a magnitude Mw8.4 earthquake near Peru in 2001, a 0.1m tsunami following a Mw9.1 earthquake off Northern Sumatra, Indonesia in December 2004 and a 0.1m tsunami following a Mw7.9 earthquake near Tonga in May 2006.