Hooker Valley rockfall. – Simon Cox / GNS Science On the evening of Monday 14th July there was a large rockfall from the western slopes of Mount Cook into the Hooker Valley. Staff from the Department of Conservation and GNS Scientist Simon Cox flew over the area to make assessments of the impact. The first photo shows […]
Mount Cook Rockfall 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 »
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 »
Lake Ohau is one of several very large lakes in the Southern Alps that fill valleys once carved out by huge glaciers during the Ice Age. As the ice retreated, it left spectacular and classic landforms in its wake, including concentric lines of moraines, erratic boulders, ‘U’ shaped valleys and extensive outwash plains. The rapid
Beryllium-10 dating of moraines around Lake Ohau Read More »