Transcript Aoraki/Mount Cook

Aoraki/Mount Cook
Evolution
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Glaciers
 Notes
on what a glacier is + how a
glacier forms
 SIHC\AorakiMC glaciers.doc
 Glacial recipe
 SIHC\glacier formation 1.doc
 Drawing on page 8 of El Bible
Discussion of Key terms.
Terms
Neve (accumulation zone) = The area
where the ice accumulates.
 Bedrock = The rock that lies below the
snow. In MC what will it be?
 Ablatation Zone = Area where the snow is
beginning to be melted away and lost
(area below the firn line)
 Moraine = Material that gets transported
then deposited by the glacier.
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Precis Sketch Drawing
 Divide
your picture of MC on page 9
into 8ths with doted ruled lines.
 In your book draw a similar area
once again divided into 8ths.
 Now using the intersection of the
lines you have ruled in our diagram
draw an accurate precis sketch of
MC.
How glaciers move
 These
rivers of ice flow at around
100,000 times slower than water and
they do so at different speeds.
 So how do they move? Ice Skater eg
on Youtube.
 Notes on how a glacier moves
 SIHC\How Glaciers move.doc
Images
Images
Jason dwarfed by a Serac
Glacier features
 Crevasse:
This is an umbrella term
to describe a number of different
features. A Crevasse is a crack in the
ice created by tension.
 Often crevasses are 70 metres deep.
 Transverse Crevasse = Go from one
side of the glacier to the other.
More features
 Longitudinal
crevasse found near the
terminus or end of the glacier. The
show the glacier is spreading
outwards.
 Marginal crevasse which point 40
degrees upstream.
 Bergschrund = A deep crevasse
formed at the cirque.
Pictures
Moraine and Till
 Till
= Rock debris carried by glaciers.
 Moraine = The feature created by
deposited till. Moraine shows where
glaciers once were.
 Lateral Moraine = Found at the
edges of glaciers. Debris usually
originates from rockfalls and
avalanches. Tasman glacier has
impressive lateral moraines.
More Moraines
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Medial Moraines = Formed by lateral moraines
coming together when a tributary glacier flows
into a main glacier.
Surface Moraines = Occur most at the terminus
of a glacier because ice melt exposes them.
Eglacial Moraine and subglacial moraine = These
are carried within and under the glacier. The
greatest bulk of the debris is carried by these.
Terminal moraine = The remains of a moraine
that has receeded.
Firnline and equilibrium line = Transition between
the neve and melt zones.
Melt-water features
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Surface Moraines at Tasman glacier are 1-2
metres deep. They cover sinkholes or moulins.
A moulin starts as a small pothole that eventually
deepen to join up with melt-water conduits that
form the glacial plumbing system. On Tas glacier
Moulins have expanded into large grey circular
lakes.
These systems eventually find their way to the
base of the glacier and they get dischard
themselves into the fluvialglacial system carrying
rock flour. The amount they discharge is
enormous at present the outwash gravels are
500-1000 metres deep.
Icefalls
 Icefalls
occur at Tasman glacier
above the glacier. This is called the
Hochstetter icefall.
 Icefalls usually occur just below the
neve.
Activity
Create your own mountain and glacier
system.
 Your Mountain can be called whatever you
want (within reason) and each glacier or
glacial feature can be called what you
want (within reason).
 On an a4 sheet of paper you are to create
this glacier and accuratly add to it the
different features glaciers create.
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Surface Processes
Either created by abrasion or plucking.
 Abrasion = Scraping
 Plucking = Pulling of rocks from bedrock.
 Small Scale features: Striations, Polished
rock, pot holes
 Created by glacier running across the rock
and either scraping or smoothing. Pot
holes created by the glacier plumbing
system.
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Large Scale Features
When Glaciers move they carve out the
landscape they travel over. Due to the
mass material they move they create u
shaped valleys. Rivers don’t carve out as
much and therefore only create v-shaped
valleys.
 U-shaped valleys often get damned up by
terminal moraine which creates finger
lakes. Lakes Tekapo, Pukaiki and Ohau are
finger lakes.
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Conitued
 The
Cirque: Where the
neve/accumulation zone was. Often
contains a small lake called a tarn.
 Roche Moutonee: Foliage hill
provides an eg of this. It is a hill
under the glacial ice. One side is a
smooth gradual slope the other is a
rough plucked cliff side.
Continued
Hanging Valleys: Created by tributary
glaciers not cutting as deep a path as the
main glacier therefore hang above.
 Arete: South ridge at MC provides a good
example of this. It is a ridge between two
crique’s
 Col: A pass where 2 Cirques converge.
Tuckett Col is a good example of this.
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Glacial transportation
 Glaciers
act as massive conveyor
belts. They transport both fine and
large material down the glacial
system. Around the terminus
products of glacial transportation are
ever present. The Tasman glacier
used to extent much further and
material found at the snout of this
glacier showed where it used to flow
to.
Human Modification of the
environment.
Copy in the glacier system and explain it
briefly underneath.
 Glaciers work on the equation of
accumulation vs. ablation. This is called
the Mass budget.
 This is how Humans have affected
glaciers. Global warming has heated the
earth which has meant that less snow is
being deposited in the neve and more is
being melted. This affects the glaciers
ability to erode, transport and deposit.
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Continued
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Copy in paragraph written in italics.
When Answering these Questions be sure to include your question
within the answer!!!!
Using text explain the following terms: downwasting, ablation,
accumulation.
How much of its volume is Tasman glacier losing each year?
Describe what you think a trimline is.
How much has the Tasman glacier dropped since 1895?
At the Muellar glacier why don’t the melt waters breach the
moraine.
What glacier mentioned has a terminus that hasn’t receeded yet.
How much has the temp at mount cook risen since the 1900’s
How has El Nino affected glaciers in the neighbouring regions?
Humans and Glaciers
 Global
Warming created by the
Greenhouse affect has led to some
recession in glaciers. This combined
with El Nino, La Nina and the
Southern Oscillation has meant the
amount caused by Humans is difficult
to tell.
Climate
Air Pressure: Air Pressure always moves
from areas of high pressure to low
pressure.
 Wind: The movement of air from low
pressure to high pressure.
 Precipitation: Moisture in the atmosphere
rain, hail snow, fog. Precipitation occurs
when air is forced to rise and therefore it
cools and condenses to dew point.
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Rainfall
There are three different types of rainfall:
Frontal when two fronts collide, convection
when a water source gets evaporated and
orographic.
 Orographic rainfall is the focus for Mt.
Cook.
 This is because the Southern Alps act as a
massive barrier to the moisture laden
westerly winds that flow from the Tasman
sea.
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Climate
 The
west coast of New Zealand
receives 7600mm of rainfall annually.
 The area to the east of the SIHC is
the driest in the country because of
the rain shadow provided by the
southern alps.
Vegetation (DW)
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levels of vegetation at Aoraki Mt.
Cook differ vastly. At the top of the
3754m peak there is no vegetation.
To the west at the foothills there is
temperate rainforest and to the East
there is grasslands what is the
reasoning for these differences?
Vegetation
Life is hard for plants to survive at Aoraki
Mt. Cook.
 The climate is cold and blustery
 The soil is thin and infertile
 The landscape is steep
 The alitude is high
 Plants need to be resilient to survive these
conditions
 What would be the issues with each of the
points above for plants?
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vegetation
The temperatures at Mt. Cook drop around a
degree every 200 metres.
This inhibits the plants that can grow and
the process of plants growing at different
heights is called altitudinal zonation.
At Aoraki Mt. Cook there is over 400
different species of plants.
At the lower altitudes (up to 1300m) the
temperate rainforest grows. This includes
species of podocarps like: Kahikatea.
Higher up
 From
1300-1900m asl smaller shrub
like plants dominate these include:
 Spear grass, Mt. Cook lily the worlds
biggest lily, Snow tussocks,
vegetable sheep.
 Above 1900m 14 different types of
Lichens have been found.
Cultural perspectives and Human
activity in the SIHC
 Culture
is an important
geographic idea and is simply
defined as a ‘common way of life’
 Cultural perspective = perception
 How people view things
differently.
Land Use SIHC
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Agriculture
Intensive farming – is it an option in the SIHC?
Why/why not?
Farmers in the SIHC have developed a farming
system known as extensive pastoralism
Farms are characteristically large and carry few
sheep because of the difficult environment
Sheep are the main animal grazed, for wool
production rather than meat
Fodder crops are grown to feed livestock in
winter when grass growth slows down or is under
snow.
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Farmers cultural perspective would be considered
economic
The major impact on the natural landscape
caused by extensive pastoralism is the
accelerated soil erosion caused by burning
pastures and overgrazing by stock
Grazing animals accelerate soil erosion by
removing vegetation, thereby loosening the soil
and making erosion
How else might the landscape be affected?
Viticulture
In Central Otago, viticulture has also
become a very popular form of intensive
farming.
 What is viticulture?
 The growing of grapes for making wine
 The hot summers and low rainfall of the
region make it well-suited for grapegrowing
 How would vintners affect the natural
landscape?
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Hydro-electric power
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There are many hydroelectric power schemes
located in the SIHC, where the rivers are fed
each year by melting snow from the Southern
Alps. The annual snow-melt usually provides
enough power for much of the nation
The cultural perspective = sustainable
perspective
The largest hydroelectric schemes in the SI
are the Waitaki Valley Scheme and the Clyde
Project on the Clutha River
Tourism
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The SIHC is one of the fastest growing regions in NZ
Resorts in Q’Town  provide jobs  bring $ to the
region
Cold winter temps. are an advantage to tourist operators
 Cardrona, Coronet Peak, Treble Cone
Tourism is carried out from an economic perspective
Ecotourism involves nature-based attractions that are
developed with local communities for sustainable
tourism
What issues might tourism create?
Aoraki Mt. Cook the legend
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Aoraki plays an important part in the creation
stories of Te Waipounamu – the South Island.
Aoraki, along with his brothers, is believed to
have brought his waka down from the skies to
visit Papatuanuku. As they tried to return home
failed and the waka fell back into the water and
turned onto its side. As the brothers scrambled to
the higher side of the canoe, they were turned to
stone. They remain there today as the mountains
of the Southern Alps, with Aoraki being the
tallest.
Spiritual Perspective.
Ngai Tahu perspective
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For Ngai Tahu, traditions such as the legend
of Aoraki represent links between the world of
the gods and Maori today. These stories are
part of their identity and history and shape
the attitudes and beliefs they hold towards
Aoraki
To Ngai Tahu, Aoraki is tapu. It represents the
most sacred of ancestors from whom Ngai
Tahu descend. In particular, the summit and
the melt waters that flow from Aoraki are
sacred, since Maori do not believe it is
appropriate to climb onto the head of an
ancestor.
Ngai Tahu Settlement
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In 1997, the Crown agreed to return Aoraki to
Ngai Tahu. Ngai Tahu responded giving the
mountain back to all the people of NZ
Topuni of Aoraki/Mt Cook = protection
Topuni  derives from Ngai Tahu tikanga
(custom), where a chief extends his protection
over a person by placing a cloak (topuni) over
him or her
This can been extended over an area or place
DOC has been asked by the Govt. to promote
certain principles:
Encouragement of respect of Ngai
Tahu’s association with Aoraki
To promote these principles DOC will…
- Provide all visitors with information about
the Ngai Tahu values and the existence of
the topuni over Aoraki
- Provide education material to all climbers
and guides explaining that to Ngai Tahu,
standing on the very top of the mountain
does not respect its topuni status
- Ensure the removal of all rubbish and
wastes