University of Canterbury researchers say New Zealand's alpine glaciers are in "very bad shape" after an unusually warm summer.
In a statement today, the university said a team led by glaciologist Dr Heather Purdie had checked in on the Rolleston Glacier in Arthurs Pass at the end of winter, and had found concerning results.
"Glaciers are great indicators of climate change ... this summer was very warm and as a consequence New Zealand alpine glaciers are in very bad shape – they have lost a huge amount of snow and ice to melting over the summer," Dr Purdie said.
"Not only has the glacier lost all of last winter's snow, but also snow that had accumulated on the glacier in previous years.
"The only snow left on the Rolleston Glacier was snow that had avalanched down onto the glacier from the surrounding mountain peaks ... without this avalanche input, the glacier would have had no snow left at all."
New Zealand has more than 3000 glaciers, but only two of those are closely monitored for their condition.
The release said that glaciers around the globe continue to get smaller, and that New Zealand glaciers have been shown by research to be particularly sensitive to temperature.
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