Davis has a relatively mild climate and is known as the ‘Riviera of the South'.

Despite the fact that it is at higher latitude than Casey or Mawson, the rock of the Vestfold Hills moderates the local climate. The temperature extremes at Davis range from a maximum of +13 °C in summer, to –40 °C in winter.

In the summer, the sun stays above the horizon for most of December and January at Davis. In winter, the sun stays below the horizon for about 2 months from early June. During winter, the day is really only1 to 2 hours of twilight.

Its distance from the continental ice sheet means that Davis is away from the katabatic wind. It has an average yearly wind speed of around 20 km/h.

Tidal predictions

Tides are measured for many different research and operational reasons. These measurements have a practical value in working out sea level. They are used for mapping elevations and ocean depths, tidal predictions for shipping, and in the calibration of satellite altimeters.

Tide measurements also have a research value. Sea level data helps us understand long-term climate change as well as continental readjustment, heat transfer across the continental shelf, and other oceanographic phenomena including observation of Southern Ocean oscillation.

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