Photo: NZ HeraldNew Zealand’s glaciers have experienced a “huge loss” of ice in little more than four decades, under a trend only worsening with climate change. “There is also the need to understand the key climatic factors driving the fluctuations in these glaciers, especially their ice volumes,” he said. “There was a huge loss of ice from these glaciers over the 42-year period,” he said. In its positive phase, the SAM was associated with relatively light winds and more settled weather over New Zealand latitudes, and loss of ice from our glaciers. “The SAM has been trending more positive during the latter part of the 20th century, with the loss of ice,” Salinger said.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 08, 2019 23:15 UTC