Southern Alps glaciers

Glacier fluctuations are among the clearest signals of climate change, because glaciers are highly sensitive indicators of the earth’s energy surface balance. Glaciers register distinct signals of past climate change on scales from decades to millennia. Atmospheric changes are signalled by direct, immediate changes in annual mass balance, which are filtered and smoothed before they become apparent at the glacier front. NIWA leads and assists with projects that monitor New Zealand’s glaciers, including Brewster Glacier monitoring, the End of Summer Snowline Survey, and Structure From Motion.