GLACIER BALANCE FLUCTUATIONS AND ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION PATTERNS OVER THE SOUTHERN ALPS, NEW-ZEALAND

The links between climate and glacier change are investigated by exami ning the relationships between atmospheric circulation and glacier bal ance changes over a 17 year period. Altitudes of the end-of-summer sno wlines made on some 48 index glaciers provide surrogates for mass bala nce, and mean atmospheric pressure maps were computer-generated for th e south-west Pacific from long-period meteorological station data. Pre ssure data are separated into accumulation and ablation seasons. The r esults show that atmospheric circulation patterns exert a strong contr ol on glacier mass balance, with positive balances associated with ano malous south to south-west flow and negative balances associated with enhanced north to north-east flow. (C) 1997 by the Royal Meteorologica l Society.