Shetland Island ( 20點)

The Climate of Shetland
Shetland lies in the track of the Atlantic depressions and is bathed by the relatively warm waters of the Slope Current, flowing north along the edge of the Continental Shelf, so the climate is classed as temperate maritime.
Summers in Shetland are usually showery, bright and cool, winters dark and wild, but also mild. The climate's slightly warmer than the Gulf of Alaska, which lies on the same 60th parallel of latitude.
Settled spells of weather are unusual at any season, but the sunniest months are April to August.
Because we're so far north, from mid-May to mid-July Shetland enjoys the 'simmer dim' (summer twilight) when the sun only dips below the northern horizon for a few hours. In fine weather this can bring the islands almost 19 hours of sunshine a day (we pay for these Scandinavian 'white nights' in midwinter when, by contrast, there are fewer than six hours of daylight).
Rainfall averages 1,037 mm (41") a year, only half the total for Fort William on the west coast of Scotland. Fortunately for our visitors, almost three quarters of the rain falls in winter, with the driest weather usually between April and August.
Wind speed averages around Force 4 (15mph, or 24kph) over the entire year. Shetland is a very windy place but because of the shape of the islands you can usually find a sheltered spot for a picnic.
FOG
Fog occurs mainly in summer but is usually confined to the east coast of the islands while the west side bathes in sunshine.
SNOW
Although Shetland's as far north as Greenland's Cape Farewell, snow rarely lies long. Gales of rain, squalls of sleet and occasional 'days between weathers' characterise the long winter, but frosts are rarely severe or prolonged.

2008-04-14 03:10:28 補充：
TEMPERATURE
Air temperature: August is the warmest month, with a daily average maximum of 14°C (57.2°F), and February the coldest, with 4.9°C (40.8°F). The average daily temperature range over the whole year is only 4.2°C (39.5°F).

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Sea temperature range from around 6°C (42.8°F) in January to 13°C (55.4°F) in August.
The weather can be boisterous but never dull because it's rarely the same for two days running. Not surprisingly, the study of meteorology is an abiding passion with many islanders.

2008-04-14 03:12:20 補充：
The old weather lore is still in daily use by fishermen and crofters.
Weather forecasts are available online from Fair Isle meteorologist Dave Wheeler's website.
Climatic averages (figures from Shetland In Statistics)

2008-04-14 03:15:32 補充：
Temperature: January min. 2.4°C; August max. 10.1°C.
Rainfall: 1,371mm p.a. (41.5").
Mean wind speed: 15mph; 49 days of gales.
Air frost: 33 days.
Snow falling: 60 days, lying on 10 days.
Rain or showers: 285 days.

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Geologically, Shetland is complicated, containing everything from volcanic lavas and granite to sandstone and limestone.

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The 'grain' of the landscape runs mainly SSW-NNE, with lines of almost parallel hill, valleys and sea lochs composed of 'metamorphic' rocks made from sand and mud squashed and heated over aeons of time.

2008-04-14 03:18:00 補充：
'THE OLD ROCK' ADRIFT
Many of Shetland's rocks date from the Devonian period, some 370 million years ago, and were laid down in desert conditions between the old Caledonian Mountains to the west and an inland sea to the east.

2008-04-14 03:18:22 補充：
Fish and fern fossils show this was before flowering plants, insects, birds and most land animals had evolved. What later became Shetland was at that time about 15 degrees south of the Equator, in the latitude of modern Angola.

2008-04-14 03:18:40 補充：
So 'The Old Rock', as Shetlanders call their homeland, has drifted half way round the world.

2008-04-14 03:19:27 補充：
Shetland Islands的 agriculture/industry ;
Shetland's economy is dominated by fish and oil but it's much more diverse than that, with sizeable contributions from livestock rearing, tourism, quarrying, knitwear and craft work.

2008-04-14 03:19:52 補充：
For most of the past 25 years unemployment has been below 5% of the workforce and is currently [2005] around 2% but recent problems with salmon farming and traditional whitefish trawling mean that figure is expected to rise.

2008-04-14 03:20:34 補充：
21ST CENTURY ECONOMY
Shetland's well-educated workforce includes computer consultants, pioneers in wind farming, tidal power and composite structures; marine engineers and boat builders; ornithologists, artists, writers,

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brewers and a stained glass designer; insulated box manufacturers, recording engineers, experts on waste-to-energy and industrial recycling - and even a strawberry farmer on the same latitude as southern Greenland!

2008-04-14 03:21:19 補充：
SERVICE SECTOR
Three quarters of the islands' employees are in the service sector, reflecting the high level of activity by Shetland Islands Council which runs inter-island ferries as well as providing all the usual council services.

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The council's partnership with the oil industry at the Sullom Voe oil and gas terminal has earned it millions of pounds in special oil revenues since 1976.

2008-04-14 03:22:07 補充：
These funds support several public trusts. The trusts provide vital extra help for social welfare, the arts, sport, environmental improvements and economic development

2008-04-14 03:27:37 補充：
I know I gave you too much information, but it seems that they are all useful for you. Hope you do not mind to take whatever you need.