Glacier Fluctuations in the Southern Alps of New Zealand Determined from Snowline Elevations

Preliminary analysis of 452 determinations of end-of-summer glacier snowline altitudes (ELAs) made over 17 yr on up to 47 glaciers show good correlation with major climatic events, and conform well with fluctuations of glacier termini when reaction times are taken into consideration. With snowline altitudes used as surrogates for annual mass balance values, there is a recent trend to increased mass balances, i.e. a climate {open_quotes}cooling,{close_quotes} which follows a long period of predominantly glacial recession. Snowline trend surfaces plotted for the Southern Alps of New Zealand show considerable warping with variable departures from the steady-state equilibrium-line altitude each year. The current resurgence of the more active glaciers should continue in the near future. 39 refs., 10 figs., 1 tab.