THE BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GOLDFIELDS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Physical Environment

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 9 years ago

Introduction: The Barlee-Menzies Study Area has a semi-arid climate with cool winters and hot, dry summers with slightly more rainfall during winter than summer (Figure 3). Apart from the south-western sector, the climate has been classified according to the classification of Koppen (Dick 1975) as Dry and Hot Steppe with the possibility of precipitation in any month. According to the Thornthwaite System, which is preferable to the Koppen system for Australian conditions (Gentilli 1948), the climate of the Barlee-Menzies Study Area is Arid Mesothermal, with rainfall deficient in all seasons (Beard 1976). Alternatively, according to the classification system of Bagnouls and Gaussen (1957) (UNESCO-FAO 1963), the climate of most of the Study Area is Desert, giving way in the south-western sector to Accentuated Subdesert. Beard (1976) describes the Study Area as Semi-Desert Mediterranean, grading into Desert with Summer and Winter Rainfall in the north.