Meteorological Technology International
  • News
    • A-E
      • Agriculture
      • Automated Weather Stations
      • Aviation
      • Climate Measurement
      • Data
      • Developing Countries
      • Digital Applications
      • Early Warning Systems
      • Extreme Weather
    • G-P
      • Hydrology
      • Lidar
      • Lightning Detection
      • New Appointments
      • Nowcasting
      • Numerical Weather Prediction
      • Polar Weather
    • R-S
      • Radar
      • Rainfall
      • Remote Sensing
      • Renewable Energy
      • Satellites
      • Solar
      • Space Weather
      • Supercomputers
    • T-Z
      • Training
      • Transport
      • Weather Instruments
      • Wind
      • World Meteorological Organization
      • Meteorological Technology World Expo
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    • April 2025
    • January 2025
    • September 2024
    • April 2024
    • Archive Issues
    • Subscribe Free!
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Expo
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
  • Sign-up for Free Weekly E-Newsletter
  • Meet the Editors
  • Contact Us
  • Media Pack
LinkedIn Facebook
Subscribe
Meteorological Technology International
  • News
      • Agriculture
      • Automated Weather Stations
      • Aviation
      • Climate Measurement
      • Data
      • Developing Countries
      • Digital Applications
      • Early Warning Systems
      • Extreme Weather
      • Hydrology
      • Lidar
      • Lightning Detection
      • New Appointments
      • Nowcasting
      • Numerical Weather Prediction
      • Polar Weather
      • Radar
      • Rainfall
      • Remote Sensing
      • Renewable Energy
      • Satellites
      • Solar
      • Space Weather
      • Supercomputers
      • Training
      • Transport
      • Weather Instruments
      • Wind
      • World Meteorological Organization
      • Meteorological Technology World Expo
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    1. April 2025
    2. January 2025
    3. September 2024
    4. April 2024
    5. January 2024
    6. September 2023
    7. April 2023
    8. Archive Issues
    9. Subscribe Free!
    Featured
    April 15, 2025

    In this Issue – April 2025

    By Web TeamApril 15, 2025
    Recent

    In this Issue – April 2025

    April 15, 2025

    In this Issue – January 2025

    December 13, 2024

    In this Issue – September 2024

    August 8, 2024
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Expo
Facebook LinkedIn
Subscribe
Meteorological Technology International
Videos

Understanding disappearance of past glaciers could provide insight into future developments, says NIWA

Dan SymondsBy Dan SymondsApril 13, 20222 Mins Read
Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Share
LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email

An international team of climate scientists believe that understanding the reasons behind the disappearance of giant glaciers in New Zealand may provide important insight into what to expect from current glaciers in the future.

Massive pre-historic glaciers once stood on the banks of Lake Tennyson, North Canterbury, but they disappeared thousands of years ago.

As glaciers retreat, they leave behind clues to their age in the form of sediment and boulders dropped by the ice as it melts. Called moraines, these piles of debris provide critical insights into Aotearoa New Zealand’s climate history.

Researchers from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Victoria University of Wellington, University of Maine, Lincoln University and GNS Science are studying the moraines around Lake Tennyson to work out why and when the glaciers disappeared.

Climate scientist Dr Andrew Lorrey is leading the work for NIWA. “We need to understand the changes that we see in this landscape that happened millennia ago, because from the chronologies that are emerging, it looks like this landscape changed really, really fast,” he said.

The work involves a combination of mapping with drones and lidar linked with cosmogenic isotope dating of boulders. This effort builds a picture of landscape evolution and shows when the glaciers were present and how they retreated over millennia.

“We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to date those glacial landforms,” said Lorrey. “We take a sample of a boulder that was dropped off by the ice in a moraine, do the chemistry on it and it tells us how long that boulder has been exposed to the atmosphere.”

Understanding how and when the landscape changed in the past gives important clues to what to expect in the future, added Lorrey. “We’ve got to understand that rapid change – and add to that what we understand about anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and what that does to the physical climate system. Put those two things together, you’ll have a stronger understanding of where we’re going in the future.”

Previous ArticleL3Harris to lead study on developing next generation weather sounders for Japan
Next Article Study links increase in severity of Southeast Africa rainfall to climate change

Read Similar Stories

Climate Measurement

WMO and Beijing Climate Centre host climate monitoring and prediction forum in Qingdao

May 16, 20252 Mins Read
Climate Measurement

WMO releases State of the Climate in Africa 2024 report

May 12, 20255 Mins Read
Climate Measurement

Omaha’s National Weather Service office resumes twice-daily balloon launches

May 7, 20252 Mins Read
Latest News

NSF NCAR begins largest US hail study in 40 years

May 19, 2025

WMO and Beijing Climate Centre host climate monitoring and prediction forum in Qingdao

May 16, 2025

Integrated model improves flood risk assessment in China

May 15, 2025

Receive breaking stories and features in your inbox each week, for free


Enter your email address:


Supplier Spotlights
  • EWR Radar Systems
Latest Job Postings
  • Researcher/Engineer to support data-based weather forecasting (R2/RE2)

    • Barcelona
    • Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación
    • Full Time
Getting in Touch
  • Contact Us / Advertise
  • Meet the Editors
  • Download Media Pack
  • Free Weekly E-Newsletter
Our Social Channels
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
© 2025 UKi Media & Events a division of UKIP Media & Events Ltd
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Notice and Takedown Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the ...
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by