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https://theconversation.com/nzs-glaciers-have-already-lost-nearly-a-third-of-their-ice-as-more-vanishes-landscapes-and-lives-change-250617>
"New Zealand ranks third globally in the proportion of ice lost from glaciers.
Almost 30% of ice volume has melted during the past 24 years and what remains
is disappearing at an accelerating pace, according to a recent global
assessment.
Almost 300 glaciers have now vanished completely from New Zealand’s mountains.
As warming temperatures melt glaciers, the ice loss has repercussions for
climate and water cycles. This in turn has significant impacts on landscapes,
rivers, ecosystems and, ultimately, people and economies.
New Zealand is tracking glacial ice loss closely, thanks to a long-running
monitoring programme going back to 1977.
Each year, a team of scientists carries out aerial surveys of the end-of-summer
snowline to determine how much of the previous winter snowpack has survived the
summer melt season.
Winter snow supplies new mass to glaciers and must balance summer melt if
glaciers are to maintain their size. Recent surveys have shown that summer melt
far exceeds winter inputs.
During extremely warm years, the winter snow pack is almost entirely removed
from some glaciers and the underlying ice has thinned by several metres.
Like a bank account where expenses continually exceed income, the glaciers are
out of balance. If left unchecked, eventually the bank account runs dry."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
