Glacier Wasting and Retreat in the Southern ALPS of New Zealand
Abstract Down-wasting has affected southern glaciers in New Zealand later than northern glaciers under the influence of a southward rising snow line which is attributed to a southerly shift in prevailing wind belts. Evidence from the Hooker Glacier indicates that the present period of wasting is the...
| Published in: | Journal of Glaciology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1952
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000034122 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000034122 |
| Summary: | Abstract Down-wasting has affected southern glaciers in New Zealand later than northern glaciers under the influence of a southward rising snow line which is attributed to a southerly shift in prevailing wind belts. Evidence from the Hooker Glacier indicates that the present period of wasting is the fourth of a series which began about 200 years ago. As the firn line rises a glacier is planed in the ablation zone so that successive surfaces are parallel to the original surface, which shows that ablation is more active for a short distance below the fern line than near the terminal face. A period of accelerated terminal retreat can result from parallel down-wasting without a correlative acceleration in the rate of climatic change. |
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