New Zealand Glaciers In Rapid Retreat - Average Ice Volume Down 25 - 30% During 20th Century

[hatrack]

New Zealand's glaciers are shrinking. Startling pictures taken from space 17 years apart show the extent of the retreat of the Tasman, Hooker and Mueller Glaciers in the Southern Alps. The first picture was taken by a Nasa satellite on December 30, 1990, and the second picture was taken on December 6, 2007.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/multimedia/image.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10489785

During the 20th century, the volume of ice in the Southern Alps dropped by 25-30 per cent, glacier length retreated by 38 per cent on average, and the area of ice covering the alps shrank by 25 per cent, glaciologist Dr Trevor Chinn said yesterday.

"It's a result of climate warming. How much you wish to attribute to man-made effects is anybody's guess."

He said the statistics were alarming. "I work on glaciers and my job is disappearing down the river." There are 3144 glaciers in the Southern Alps. However, some steep glaciers such as the Stocking and Franz Josef glaciers have stopped retreating over the past 30 years. "They are fluctuating about a constant size," he said.

EDIT

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10489785

[NNadir]

1. It's a wonderful opportunity for hydroelectric power I think.