You are browsing the archive for New Zealand glacier Archives - From a Glacier's Perspective.
March 10, 2022
Ongoing Detachment at Victoria Glaicer, New Zealand
Victoria Glacier in Sentinel images from February 2017 and February 2022. Red arrow is 2002 terminus location, yellow arrow marks 2022 debris cover take over and beginning of stagnating ice region. Point C is lowest point of clean ice in 2017 and just above terminus in 2022. Point A, B and D are icefalls where detachment is underway. Victoria Glacier in New Zealand’s Southern Alps is the westward draining valley …
April 7, 2021
Bonar Glacier Retreat, New Zealand
Bonar Glacier in 1992 and 2021 Landsat image. Red arrow is the 1992 reconstituted terminus location, yellow arrow the 2021 terminus location and purple dots the snowline. Bonar Glacier is on the west flank of Mount Aspiring flowing north from Mount before turning sharply west and descending towards a lake and draining into the Waipara River. The NIWA glacier monitoring program noted that 30 per cent of New Zealand’s ice that …
March 25, 2021
Snow White Glacier, New Zealand Withers with Climate Change in 21st Century
Snow White Glacier in Landsat images from 2002, 2016 and 2021. Point A is an alpine lake, Point B is new proglacial lake location, Point C is lower icefall and Point D the Upper Icefall. Blue arrows indicate glacier flow. The Snow White Glacier is in the Snow Drift Range and Olivine Wilderness in Mt Aspiring National Park, New Zealand. The glacier flows north from 2400 m on the slopes of …
March 15, 2020
Glacier Retreat Drives 400% Lake Expansion Southern Alps, New Zealand 1990-2020
Landsat images from 1990 and 2020 of the Mueller (M), Hooker (H), Tasman (T) and Murchison (Mn) Glacier. Red arrows indicate the 1990 terminus location, yellow arrows the 2020 terminus location and pink arrows the upglacier extent of debris cover in 1990. Glaciers of the Southern Alps of New Zealand have been losing ice volume since 1978, with an increasing rate in the last decade (Pelto, 2016). Gjermundsen et al …
February 23, 2018
Mueller Glacier, NZ Terminus Collapse
Mueller Glacier (M) in a Landsat image from 1990 and a Sentinel image from 2018. Red arrow is 1990 terminus, yellow arrow 2018 terminus, blue arrow glacier flow, and pink arrow in 2018 ablation valley cut into glacier. Glaciers of the Southern Alps of New Zealand have been losing ice volume since 1978, with an increasing rate in the last decade (Pelto, 2017). The NIWA glacier monitoring program has noted that volume …
January 6, 2017
New Zealand Glacier Retreat will Impact Hydropower
Map of the Waitaki Hydropower system, from Meridian and images of the system taken by Jill Pelto January 2017. Hooker Glacier, Mueller, Murchison and Tasman Glacier drain into Lake Pukaki, where water level has been raised 9 m for hydropower purposes. Classen Glacier, Grey Glacier and Godley Glacier drain into Lake Tekapo. Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki are both utilized for hydropower. Water from Lake Tekapo is sent through a canal …
March 24, 2016
New Zealand Glacier Change Index
Terminus of Tasman, Mueller and Hooker Glacier terminus in Mount Cook 1972 map, no lake present. Progalcial lakes forming in front of Tasman, Mueller and Hooker Glacier in 1990 above and 2015 Landsat images below. Red arrows are the 1990 terminus and yellow arrows the 2015 terminus locations. Overview The Southern Alps of New Zealand are host to over 3000 glaciers that owe their existence to high amounts …
March 14, 2016
Volta Glacier New Zealand Losing Lower Volta section
Comparison of Volta Glacier in 2001 and 2016. Yellow arrow is the 2016 terminus position and the red arrow the NZ topo map terminus location. Purple arrows indicate upglacier thinning and orange arrows regions of avalanching onto the lower Volta Glacier. Volta Glacier drains northeast from Mount Aspiring entering the Waiatoto River. This region is 60 km south of the main region of glaciers around Mount Cook. The glacier is …
January 14, 2016
Murchison Glacier, New Zealand Rapid Retreat Lake Expands 1990-2015
Murchison Glacier change revealed in Landsat images from 1990 and 2015. The red arrow indicates 1990 terminus location, the yellow arrow indicates 2015 terminus location and the purple arrow indicates upglacier thinning. Murchison Glacier is the second largest in New Zealand. The glacier drains south in the next valley east of Tasman Glacier and terminates in a lake that is rapidly developing as the glacier retreats. The lower 6 km …
January 11, 2016
Hooker Glacier Retreat, 1990-2015
Glacier change revealed in Landsat images from 1990 and 2015. Mueller Glacier (M) and Hooker Glacier (H). The red arrow indicates 1990 terminus location, the yellow arrow indicates 2015 terminus location and the purple arrow indicates upglacier thinning. Hooker Glacier parallels the Tasman Glacier one valley to the west draining south from Mount Hicks and Mount Cook. Hooker Glacier is a low gradient which helps reduce its overall velocity and …
Dean of Academic Affairs at Nichols College and Professor of Environmental Science at Nichols College in Massachusetts since 1989. Glaciologist directing the North Cascade Glacier Climate Project since 1984. This project monitors the mass balance and behavior of more glaciers than any other in North America.