Photo of Turn off to Franz Joseph Glacier

Glaciers into the Ocean

Since things are winding down here we are spending three days multi-beaming.   I thought I could cover an exciting geologic feature that we saw on our field trip of the South Island.   The Maori name for the glacier comes from Hinehukatere weaping for the loss of her lover who fell climbing up into the mountains and her tears freezing to form the glacier. 

Franz Joseph- Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere

Franz Joseph Glacier is located on the west side of the South Island about two thirds down.  It is presently about 19 kilometers from the sea.  Fiord lands are formed when glaciers run into the sea.  The Milford Sound is a local famous for this fiord.  Glaciers of this magnitude are absent in Colorado; although some people would argue that Arapahoe Snowfield is a glacier, and the one located furthest in the Rockies. Our mountains the Indian Peaks have been highly sculpted by glaciers into arêtes and horns. 

Check out this web site for a cool photo of Arapahoe glacier past and present- http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=5668

This one illustrates glacial landforms-

http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/Lemke/alpine_glacial_glossary/glossary.html#depositionallandforms

Franz Joseph- Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere glacier is one of the most easily accessed glaciers in the world being only 4 kilometers off of NZ Highway Six.  It is also unique for ending in a lush rainforest.

Photo of rainforest

What is an Alpine Glacier? 

Snow that doesn’t melt builds up at elevation.  Over time this snowfield starts to act like a huge conveyor belt pushing and deforming down and out to the sides.  Ice forms from huge pressures and rock and debris are scoured underneath the glacier.  When this occurs a glacier has been formed.  Glaciers can be formed with temperature changes of as little as two degrees Celsius. 

Huge glaciers also form due to cold temperatures at the poles. 

Photos of Franz Joseph Glacier

Upper

Local Colorado Glaciers

Locally glaciers were prevalent in Boulder County as late as 8,000 years ago.  Nederland is as far east as the glaciers came.  They left piles of debris around the town forming hills trending east west.  The ski area of Eldora and the Devil’s Thumb feature west of the area were all heavily glaciated.  

Characteristics of Franz Joseph Glacier

We arrived at the base of the glacier early in the evening and the cool air was sinking down the valley off of the ice.   To view the glacier we climbed Sentinel Rock.  This feature, a low hill overlooking the glacier, was left behind by the glacier due its composition of more resistant rock. 

The glacier empties into the Waiho River.  Glacial valleys have a characteristic U-shape whereas river valleys have a characteristic V-shape. 

Is Global Warming affecting the glacier? 

Due to heavy snowfall since 1997 the glacier is presently growing.  Glaciers grow or recede due to a balance of snowfall at the top and snowmelt at the bottom. 

Although, glaciers on the east side of the Southern Alps have been melting.  It is important to note that global warming doesn’t always affect systems in a predictable way.  Glacial advance has been up to a phenomenal 70 centimeters a day. 

Conclusion

With a little imagination it is not too hard to imagine the glaciers west of Boulder being like Franz Joseph.  One of my favorite exercises is to stand in one of the U-shaped valleys like in the town of Eldora and imagine the glacier towering above my head a couple thousand feet. 

This web site is helpful in understanding glaciers in our Rocky Mountain National Park.

http://www.nps.gov/features/romo/feat0001/GlcBasics.html

This image is taken from there. 

Seabirds are not seen on land unless they are nesting.  They are birds that are adapted to be out at sea.  We wouldn’t see them in Colorado. 

General Sea Bird Adaptations

Webbed Feet

It may seem obvious, but webbed feet are one of them.  They are necessary for maneuvering in water.  When taking off they allow the bird to push off of the water.

Buoyant Feathers

A healthy bird preens its feathers often.  They are essential to giving the bird its “superhero” qualities.  Three types are present.  The flight feathers provide a force for uplift and are essential for flight and gliding.  Down feathers are necessary for insulation.  The climate is extreme.  Some of these birds venture to Antarctica.  The third kind of feathers is for covering the bird.  All the feathers are waterproof.  Some birds like shag, we see cormorants in Colorado; don’t have downy feathers for buoyancy and warmth.  They lack this layer to dive after prey just like we would wear a weight belt when scuba diving.  Shags need land or an island to dry out and to stay warm. 

Salt glands

Seabirds excrete excess salt with these glands located in their head.  They osmoregulate the salt they drink and food they ingest.    Osmoregulation is like the water makers on board that push out the salt and other impurities to make fresh water.  Wow!

In general seabirds are not colorful.  Black, grey and white are the colors of the day.  Dark colors are on the top and light colors or white are on the bottom.  This allows the birds to be unseen by their prey.  Modern naval warships utilize this same camouflage in their paint schemes. 

Gliding and Dynamic Soaring-Energy Conservation at Sea

Most seabirds have long narrow wings with a reduced ability for powered flight.  I love watching the Wandering Albatross soaring above the water. 

Slope soaring –is the method where the bird turns into the wind gains altitude then soars out across the water.

Graphic from http://www.apogeerockets.com/education/images/dynamic_soaring.gif

Video of Sitting and Soaring Albatross in a Swell

big-swell-sitting-and-soaring

Dynamic soaring is more complicated and involves cruising over the waves as they push the air up vertically.  The bird is then elevated on this updraft.  They are doing this when they appear to be touching the water with their wings and racing the wave surface. 

These techniques allow them to ride the wind for hours without flapping and wasting energy.  I also see them sitting on the water at times. 

Storm Petrel-Mighty Mini

Graphic from

http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/Bio21Tuat01-02-fig-Bio21Tuat01-02_075a.html

Name

I was amazed two days ago to see this little bird, smaller than a blackbird fluttering amongst the waves.  My first though was get on board, because you are going to die out there.  The name petrel comes from Saint Peter who was thought to walk on water with Jesus.  They are called storm petrels because they seek shelter in the lee side of boats at sea during storms.  

Identifying Behavior

Then it was bouncing off of the water.  And sure enough it appeared to hitting the water.  It would skip along the waves with its feet out.  With some research I found out that this is its feeding behavior.  Plucking invertebrates, small fish and droplets of oil off of the water surface is its life force. 

Reproduction

The White Faced Petrel is the most common type of petrel in the waters around New Zealand.  They mate for life and have one white egg, which they lay in a burrow or on a crack on a rock ledge.  They return to the same rookery every year. 

Grey Headed Mollymawk/Albatross

Graphic from

http://www.nzbirds.com/birds/mollymawkgreyheaded.html

The more we observed the seabirds around our ship, the more we noticed differences.  There was an albatross that wasn’t as big as the Wandering.  Especially when you saw them sitting next to each other they were of a different size. 

Photo of Albatross and Mollymawk

Identification

The Grey Headed Mollymawk is 80 centimeters in body length whereas the Albatross is up to 118 cm..  It has a grey head and blacktopped wings and some black on its tail.  If you can see its beak it is yellow and grey. 

Behaviors and Demise

These guys nest on Campbell Island and follow fishing boats.  They follow us for our garbage. Mollywawks are capable of diving up to 7 meters underwater after their favorite prey squid and krill but don’t do it often.   There has a marked decline in their population from 43,000 to 7,800 in the last 40 years due to a decline in food and being caught in fishing nets as by-catch in the 70’s and 80’s. 

They are one of our most numerous guardians around the boat. 

Wandering Albatross

As mentioned before, these are the big ones with wingspans up to 3 meters.  Albatross are kind of goofy looking when they are not soaring.  When taking off or landing they look awkward running on the water. They have an acute sense of smell, which is unusual for birds.  Smell aids them in identifying potential food sources. 

Video of Albatross Eating Organics

birds-in-garbage2

Video of Dumping and Birds

the-motherlode