Science Centres: Energy

Cold temperature specs for fuel products

Analysing maps of extreme minimum temperatures allows Shell NZ Ltd to estimate the risk of fuel freezing, and hence helps them to set specification limits for different fuels being stored around the country.

NIWA was recently asked to produce several maps showing the nationwide patterns of minimum temperatures for the winter and spring months. One of the maps, the 10th percentile extreme minimum air temperature for the month of July, is shown here. This is a bit of a mouthful, but means that at Gore, for example, once in every ten years on average, the coldest July night is colder than about -6 °C.

NIWA climate scientist, Andrew Tait, says 'It’s great to see the practical application of our climate mapping work. Maps and GIS data layers are highly transportable products that can be easily picked up and used for numerous purposes.'