Tasman Glacier

Tasman Glacier is a large valley glacier on New Zealand’s South Island, flowing through Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park into Tasman Lake.

Tasman Lake: A proglacial lake at the terminus of Tasman Glacier in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. The lake formed beside the glacier and receives icebergs calved from its terminus.
Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park: A national park in New Zealand’s Southern Alps containing Aoraki/Mount Cook and numerous glaciers. Tasman Glacier lies within the park’s high alpine landscape.
Glacier retreat: The landward movement of a glacier’s terminus when ice loss exceeds ice gain. Tasman Glacier has retreated substantially, leaving a growing lake at its foot.
Valley glacier: A glacier confined by and flowing down a mountain valley. Tasman Glacier follows a mountain valley from its high-elevation ice source.
Glacier terminus: The lower end of a glacier, where ice is lost through melting, calving or both. Tasman Glacier’s terminus now ends in Tasman Lake, where ice calves into the water.
Southern Alps: The major mountain range running along much of New Zealand’s South Island. The range’s high peaks and snowfall feed Tasman Glacier and neighboring ice fields.
Climate change in New Zealand: Long-term shifts in New Zealand’s climate, including rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns. Warming contributes to the loss of ice from Tasman Glacier and other Southern Alps glaciers.
Accumulation zone: The part of a glacier where annual snow and ice gains exceed losses. Snow accumulation in the glacier’s upper reaches supplies ice that flows down-valley.
Glacial lake outburst flood: A sudden release of water from a lake held by glacial ice or sediment. Changes to proglacial lakes can create flood hazards in glacier-fed valleys.
Hooker Glacier: A valley glacier in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park that terminates in Hooker Lake. It is a nearby glacier whose retreat has also produced a proglacial lake.

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