This is a classic view of the Southern Alps from Lake Matheson on a still morning, showing the high peaks of Mount Tasman and Mount Cook.The Alpine Fault runs along the foot of the steep rangefront, extending right up the West Coast of the South Island. The mountains are therefore part of the Pacific Plate […]
Stepping Over the Boundary Read More »
A visit to Fox Glacier shows that changes over the last 5 years are similar to those at the Franz Josef Glacier. Here is a view of the Fox Glacier front in 2009: And this year (March 2014): The terminal face from another angle in 2009… …and as it was recently in 2014. The grass
Franz Josef Glacier 2009 – Julian Thomson GNS Science Recently I visited the West Coast Glaciers and was interested to see their condition after my last visit 5 years ago in 2009. Franz Josef 2009- Photo Eric Burger These photos give and immediate comparison of Franz Josef Glacier over the last 5 years: In 2009 the
Franz Josef Ice on the Retreat Read More »
This week I have been with Cornel de Ronde and a group of ocean floor researchers applying more of their methods to expand the large amount of research of Lake Rotomahana done over recent years. This is the lake that used to be decorated by the famous Pink and White Terraces. It was excavated by
The Hot Bed of Rotomahana Read More »
Some images I took this morning, on an early walk through Christchurch City Centre. I offer my best wishes to the folk of Christchurch and other Canterbury towns who are still patiently rebuilding their livelihoods, three years on from the 22nd February 2011 aftershock. We Remember:
Christchurch City Centre, Three Years On Read More »
Simon Cox GNS Science M. McSaveney GNS Science Slip Stream is a tributary to the Dart River in the South Island of New Zealand. There has been an active landslide here for several thousand years, periodically sending down lobes of debris to gradually build up a large fan in the Dart Valley. There was
The Dart Landslide Read More »
The Tasman Glacier is the largest glacier in New Zealand. Its upper section is mostly white as you would expect of a river of ice. However, the lower half is covered with a layer of rock debris about a metre thick. This forms an insulating layer that slows down surface melting and allows the glacier
The growth of Tasman Glacier Lake Read More »
Mount Cook rock avalanche 1991. Lloyd Homer, GNS Science On 14th December 1991 a massive rock avalanche occurred from the East Face of Aoraki /Mount Cook, sending an estimated 14 million cubic metres of rock in a 1.5 kilometre wide cascade across the grand plateau and down onto the Tasman Glacier. It is thought that
The Changing Height of Mount Cook Read More »
K-Pg boundary layer – when the Earth changed forever The K-Pg Boundary (or Cretaceous Paleogene boundary, or K-T boundary as it is still sometimes called) is a layer in the Earth’s crust that marks a very dramatic moment in the history of life on earth about 65 million years ago. There is a huge change
Global Catastophe in a thin rock layer Read More »
To quantify the linkage between weather events and sedimentation in Lake Ohau, a weather station has been set up in the valley at the head of the lake. This is only possible due to kind assistance from the Inkersell family at Lake Ohau Station. I accompanied Heidi Roop to the weather station as it needed a
Weather Station at Lake Ohau Read More »