Upper Tasman Glacier, NZ
The Tasman flows south west from Hochstetter Dome (R) and Mount Elie De Beaumont (L) alongside the southern slopes of The Minarets (far L) and south along the eastern flank of New Zealand's two highest mountains, Mount Tasman and its higher southern neighbour Aoraki / Mount Cook.
Although its upper reaches are snow-covered, lateral moraines coalesce to form medial moraines. As the moraines are carried within the glacier, they are progressively exposed by ablation along its course, as seen here. Further down the course of the glacier it is entirely rock-covered. Once all ice has melted huge accumulations of moraine are left in the valley floor to be gradually eroded and carried down the Tasman River valley.
It is a very large glacier, and is New Zealand's largest and longest. It is 23 kilometres long. Because of its size, it is hard to get an accurate sense of scale, for it is 4 kms wide and its surface area is over 100 sq kms! It is 600m thick.
It descends from above 3000m. Snowfall during the winter and spring seasons may accumulate up to 50 metres. After the summer melt, 7 metres may remain in the high altitude glacier head.
There is a pinkish tinge on the firn zone in this photograph. That is a result of a major (and memorable in Sydney) dust storm in southern Australia, some of the dust being precipitated here, it becoming more obvious as the snow gradually melts.
This alpine area is recognized as a natural heritage estate by UNESCO.
Since 1980s it has been in diminishing, its snout retreating up the valley, its terminal lake growing in length. This recession has been at a rate of about 180 meters per year the 1990s, with a period of much faster retreat between 2008 to the present.
Upper Tasman Glacier, NZ
The Tasman flows south west from Hochstetter Dome (R) and Mount Elie De Beaumont (L) alongside the southern slopes of The Minarets (far L) and south along the eastern flank of New Zealand's two highest mountains, Mount Tasman and its higher southern neighbour Aoraki / Mount Cook.
Although its upper reaches are snow-covered, lateral moraines coalesce to form medial moraines. As the moraines are carried within the glacier, they are progressively exposed by ablation along its course, as seen here. Further down the course of the glacier it is entirely rock-covered. Once all ice has melted huge accumulations of moraine are left in the valley floor to be gradually eroded and carried down the Tasman River valley.
It is a very large glacier, and is New Zealand's largest and longest. It is 23 kilometres long. Because of its size, it is hard to get an accurate sense of scale, for it is 4 kms wide and its surface area is over 100 sq kms! It is 600m thick.
It descends from above 3000m. Snowfall during the winter and spring seasons may accumulate up to 50 metres. After the summer melt, 7 metres may remain in the high altitude glacier head.
There is a pinkish tinge on the firn zone in this photograph. That is a result of a major (and memorable in Sydney) dust storm in southern Australia, some of the dust being precipitated here, it becoming more obvious as the snow gradually melts.
This alpine area is recognized as a natural heritage estate by UNESCO.
Since 1980s it has been in diminishing, its snout retreating up the valley, its terminal lake growing in length. This recession has been at a rate of about 180 meters per year the 1990s, with a period of much faster retreat between 2008 to the present.