Safely harnessed into position, Niwa climate and environmental applications principal scientist Dr Andrew Lorrey points an FLIR T640 infrared camera out of the open cabin door towards the Tasman Glacier last year, to gather thermal data for the glacier ice, meltwater and the debris cover. PHOTO: NIWAThe Australian bushfires have Niwa glaciologists worried about what they might find, as they prepare to conduct their annual survey of the southern region’s glaciers. Following two of New Zealand’s hottest summers on record, previous surveys had shown significant recession of the South Island’s glaciers. Niwa climate scientists and glaciologists take to the skies every year in March to record how New Zealand’s glaciers are faring in the heating atmosphere. The annual long-term aerial Snowline Survey records the snowline altitude of up to 50 glaciers across the South Island, using specialised cameras from a light aircraft.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 10, 2020 15:22 UTC