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 »
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 »
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 »
Ever since its creation by the retreat of a huge glacier at the end of the last ice age, Lake Ohau has been gradually filling up with sediments washed down from the nearby mountain ranges. This is the view looking north from the lake, up towards the Dobson Valley. The valley profile has the classic
Lake Ohau Sediments Read More »
Lake Tutira is a scenic spot on the route between Napier and Wairoa in northern Hawkes Bay. It is in a very rural setting, surrounded by steep hillsides and farmland. The landscape around the lake contains several powerful geological stories. The first is that the hills themselves, made up of rocks that are about 1.8
Lake Tutira – tectonic uplift, ice ages, landslides and cyclones Read More »
Waipatiki Beach north of Napier is a great place for family holidays in the summer. It is enclosed by cliffs at either end that happen to provide one of Hawkes Bay’s many classic geological sites. (for more geological and access information see also www.geotrips.org.nz/trip.html?id=24) A track leading south of the beach takes you to a good view of
For those of you interested in the follow up of our ice core drilling expedition, here is the National Radio broadcast of the story as told on “Our Changing World” on Thursday 20th August. The broadcast is about 13 minutes long. http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ocw/ocw-20090820-2120-Southern_Alps_Ice_Cores_Drilling-048.mp3
Our Changing World radio broadcast Read More »
Out of our original top 3 favourite glaciers to check for ice cores there was still one left to go. This was the Baker Glacier, visible clearly from our previous site on Mount Hutton, almost directly across on the other side of the Murchison Glacier Valley. Baker Glacier is relatively low altitude at 2360 metres.
After yet another day of sorting out and preparing our gear, the weather forecast looked quite promising for a few days. We decided to fly back up to Mount Hutton and drill non stop until we either came to bedrock of had to stop for other reasons, such as water in the ice. The four