Brian Blair Fitzharris

• PhD
• Professor Emeritus at University of Otago

As global surface temperatures have increased with human‐induced climate change, notable compound climate extremes in the New Zealand (NZ) region associated with atmospheric heatwaves (AHWs) and marine heatwaves (MHWs) have occurred in the past 6 years. Natural modes of variability that also played a key role regionally include the Interdecadal Pac...

During austral warm seasons (November-March, NDJFM) of 1934/35, 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2021/22 the New Zealand (NZ) region experienced the most intense coupled ocean/atmosphere (MHW/AHW) heatwaves on record. Average temperature anomalies over land and sea were +1.2 to 1.4°C above average. Common to all four events were maximum sea surface temperature...

New Zealand has a more than four‐decade long (1977–2019) continuous record of measurements of the altitude of end‐of‐summer‐snowlines (EOSS). These are obtained from oblique aerial photography during annual flights over the Southern Alps for a set of 50 ‘index glaciers’ (EOSSALPS). Average EOSSALPS is 1842 m for the 1977–2016 period. Estimates for...

During austral summers (DJF) 1934/35, 2017/18 and 2018/19, the New Zealand (NZ) region (approximately 4 million km2) experienced the most intense coupled ocean-atmosphere heatwaves on record. Average air temperature anomalies over land were + 1.7 to 2.1 °C while sea surface temperatures (SST) were 1.2 to 1.9 °C above average. All three heatwaves ex...

New Zealand has a long, continuous record of annual measurements of the altitude of end‐of‐summer‐snowline for a set of 50 Southern Alps “index glaciers.” The record begins for the 1976–1977 glacier year and continues to the present. These are equivalent to equilibrium line altitude (ELA) data. An earlier paper used these to estimate annual mass ba...

During austral summer (DJF) 2017/18, the New Zealand region experienced an unprecedented coupled ocean-atmosphere heatwave, covering an area of 4 million km2. Regional average air temperature anomalies over land were +2.2ºC, and sea surface temperature anomalies reached +3.7ºC in the eastern Tasman Sea. This paper discusses the event, including atm...

This is a written version of my Munro Oration presented at the joint Conference for the NZ Hydrological Society, the Australian Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium and the IPENZ Rivers Group held in Queenstown, New Zealand from 28 November to 2 December 2016. Here, I reflect on some important issues in the science of climate and water over the...

New Zealand has a long, continuous record of annual end-of-summer-snowline measurements for a set of Southern Alps ‘index glaciers’ from 1977 to present. These index glaciers are used to estimate annual mass balance and volume water equivalent changes for the over 3000 glaciers on the Southern Alps. Two methods are employed to monitor ice volume ch...

We have measured the glacier area changes in the central Southern Alps, New Zealand, between 1978 and 2002 and have compiled the 2002 glacier outlines using an image scene from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER). Three automated classification methods were tested: (1) band ratio, (2) normalized-difference sno...

The mass of avalanches was investigated using two series of observations made at Rogers Pass in Western Canada. Large avalanches occur once in 3 - 25 years at each avalanche path, and their mass greatly exceeds that of annual maximum avalanches. Standard extreme-value frequency distributions cannot be applied. An empirical predictive equation for t...

A seventy-year record has been compiled of the number and mass of avalanches and the length of railway covered by avalanches at the Canadian Pacific Railway at Rogers Pass, British Columbia. The data showed only weak periodicities of avalanche activity. Several frequency distributions were analyzed for fit of the data, and the Gumbel method found a...

The glaciers of the Southern Alps of New Zealand play an important role in understanding regional and global patterns of climate change. They constitute the third largest ice mass in the Southern Hemisphere after Antarctica and South America, and present unique glaciological features in the region: high sensitivity, high input‐output systems that r...

MODIS/TERRA was used to monitor the snowpack dynamics in the Waitaki catchment, New Zealand, from 2000 to 2007. Daily meteorological data (i.e., temperature and precipitation) and frequent observations of the snowpack were used with the Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM) to simulate the daily discharge of the Ohau, Pukaki, and Tekapo catchments. The resul...

Vineyards in New Zealand are pushing further south than anywhere else in the Southern Hemisphere, this despite poor understanding of the latitudinal limits of grape growing. European experience shows a limit of 50oN. Valuable pointers and cautionary tales from Germany encourage a view that the southern limit in New Zealand may be 45oS. This is broa...

Retreat and advance of glaciers in the Southern Alps of New Zealand have occurred over two distinct 20-yr climate periods (1954–1974) and (1974–1994). Changes in tropical and southern Andean glaciers are compared over these same periods. Behaviour of glaciers in the tropical Andes are out of phase with the Southern Alps glaciers, but some glaciers...

Snowmelt is measured over a 34 day summer period at 2440 m a.s.l. on Tasman Glacier (>500 m above the equilibrium-line altitude) using a tipping-bucket lysimeter and an array of ten ablation stakes. A degree-day factor for snowmelt is calculated using a linear relationship between combined measured melt and the number of degree-days. The slope of t...

The end‐of‐summer snowline (EOSS) on 47 glaciers distributed throughout the Southern Alps of New Zealand is related to changes in Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation and sea surface temperature patterns over a 23 year period. The EOSS provides an index of the glacier mass balance, as high (low) EOSS elevations relative to the steady‐state m...

This paper investigates the spatial interpolation of growing degree-days (a measure of heat accumulation for crops) in Southland, New Zealand. This type of climate map aids land-use management and identifies high quality climates suitable for more profitable, high value crops. The use of an automated spatial interpolation technique (ANUSPLIN) speed...

This chapter is the first of four on hydrological aspects of the physical environment. An introduction is provided to the concept of the hydrological system, including the transfer of water between the main storage components of the oceans, atmosphere, and land-based features such as lakes, snow, and ice. A systematic discussion is then provided, s...

The global climate system is driven by energy, almost all of which comes from the Sun. In this chapter, variations in the Sun-Earth relationship, which create spatial and temporal variations in the receipt of solar radiation over Earth's surface, are examined. Imbalances in energy inputs and outputs lead to massive transfers of energy in both the a...

The links between climate and glaciers of the Southern Alps are investigated by examining the relationships between atmospheric circulation and glacier mass balance changes, as measured by end-of-summer snowlines (ELAs) over a 21-year period on 48 index glaciers. Trend surfaces are fitted to the ELAs data for each mass balance year, and the elevati...

After a long period of general retreat, the Franz Josef Glacier on the western flanks of the Southern Alps of New Zealand has undergone a major advance, beginning about 1982. Key climatic variables, atmospheric circulation patterns over the Southwest Pacific, and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), are compared for two 20-year periods that repres...

The Tasman Glacier is the largest glacier in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Despite a century of climate warming, the glacier has until recently remained at its “Little Ice Age” terminus position, although there has been substantial downwasting. The lower glacier is covered by an extensive debris layer, which has redistributed ice losses in both...

The glaciers and snowfields of the Southern Alps of New Zealand are the most significant in the Southern Hemisphere outside Antarctica and South America. The most substantial data on Southern Hemisphere glacier fluctuations come from New Zealand. The nature and behaviour of New Zealand's glaciers are also of wider scientific interest, because they...

This paper reviews the use of satellite imagery for mapping seasonal snow cover in New Zealand. Despite the highly variable nature and importance of seasonal snow, there have been few studies, which attempt to derive snow information using remote sensing in New Zealand. These studies are restricted to analyses of hard copy images or of digital anal...

The relationships between New Zealand regional rainfall and south-west Pacific pressure patterns are investigated. Principal components of monthly sea-level pressure are computed from 14 Australasian climate stations and interpreted as physical features of the circulation near New Zealand. Monthly rainfall data at eight New Zealand locations are re...

Inflows to South Island, New Zealand lakes deriving from snowmelt are quantified using a water balance approach and are shown to be between 8% and 24% of annual inflow. A snow accumulation index calculated from climatological data using a snowpack simulation model confirms the general pattern of the year-to-year variability of these estimates.Previ...

Twentieth century changes in the terminal position of the Franz Josef Glacier on the west coast of New Zealand are compared with an area-averaged mean annual rainfall series for the summer rainfall region of South Africa. Distinctive teleconnections are evident in an out-of-phase relationship between the two series, each of which exhibits an oscill...

Snow melt is calculated at 1780 m a.s.l., near the Main Divide of the Southern Alps, using a bulk aerodynamic energy balance approach. Results are related to melt measured directly using a lysimeter and to synoptic weather patterns. Measurements are taken half hourly, over a 38 day period from the start of the spring melt season. Melt values at the...

An alternate method of displaying and interpreting principal components of surface pressure is presented. Rather than mapping the component loadings, the components are displayed as a series of four composite surface pressure maps representative of the ranked component score. In this form it is argued the physical significance of the principal comp...

The links between climate and glacier change are investigated by examining the relationships between atmospheric circulation and glacier balance changes over a 17 year period. Altitudes of the end-of-summer snowlines made on some 48 index glaciers provide surrogates for mass balance, and mean atmospheric pressure maps were computer-generated for th...

The Southern Alps Experiment is being mounted to study the influence of New Zealand's Southern Alps on local weather and climate. This paper describes these alpine influences and outlines proposed field and modeling experiments. Experiment goals include understanding and quantifying factors that govern the intensity and spatial distribution of heav...

Vineyards in New Zealand are pushing further south than anywhere else in the Southern Hemisphere, this despite poor understanding of th latitudinal limits of grape growing. European experience shows a limit of 50°N. Valuable pointers and cautionary tales from Germany encourage a view that the southern limit in New Zealand may be 45°S. This is broad...

Temperature and precipitation trends are described for newly homogenized historical climate data sets for the South-west Pacific. Regions that exhibit similar temperature and precipitation trends and variability are defined, and the temperature and precipitation time series aggregated according to these regions. Four temperature regions show distin...

There are no systematic measurements of seasonal snow in the Southern Alps, New Zealand. To rectify this, a conceptual model is developed that calculates seasonal snow deposition, ablation and accumulation. The model is based on daily temperature and precipitation data from long-established climate stations about the Southern Alps. Output is given...

The northern limits for quality vine growing in Europe is 50°N, and in New Zealand about 45°S. Both areas do not have an abundance of solar radiation, although New Zealand does have the greater. Frost and wind are unfavourable in New Zealand. In Europe, at the climatic limit, white grapes are grown. Climatic conditions are shown on tables and diagr...

There are no systematic measurements of seasonal snow in the Southern Alps, New Zealand, so little information is available as to its past variability. To rectify this, a conceptual model is developed that calculates seasonal snow deposition, ablation and accumulation. The model is based on daily temperature and precipitation data from long-establi...

Temperature trends are presented for a large part of the southwest Pacific. The trends differ from those documented for Northern Hemisphere land areas, where warming has occurred mainly through increases in minimum temperature. The New Zealand patterns are derived from recently completed analyses of monthly and annual mean maximum and minimum surfa...

The analyses reported in this paper are based on an unprecedented 80 year record of reconstructed grid-point sea-level pressure data which are used to derive composite pressure anomaly fields for the Southwest Pacific for extreme phases of the Southern Oscillation. These show centres of action to the east and west of New Zealand. However, it is the...

A model of mass balance is constructed for the Franz Josef Glacier on the west coast of New Zealand. It uses daily data from a nearby, but short-record climate station. The model is extended back to 1913 by creating hybrid climate data from a long-record, but more distant, climate station. Its monthly data provide long-term temperature and precipit...

There is renewed interest as to the impact of future climate change on temperate alpine glaciers because of their role as indicators of past and ongoing changes, and due to their possible involvement in sea-level rise. Substantial changes in termini of New Zealand glaciers since the nineteenth century are compared with variations in atmospheric cir...

Previous classifications of New Zealand's climates are reviewed and a new one is developed by employing numerical methods. Numerical classifications offer the advantages of objectivity and ability to handle large numbers of climate stations and many variables. Iterative partition clustering is used to classify 282 stations into 18 climate regions....

National parks in New Zealand attract large numbers of people into potentially hostile mountainous terrain, so they are inherently hazardous places. Recent dramatic increases in park visitors have accentuated threats from hazardous events. While park managers have a moral responsibility for visitor safety, matters of legal responsibility and liabil...

Because New Zealand is such a hilly country it contains a wide range of topoclimates but these have received surprisingly little attention. Development of horticulture, continued hydroelectric power developments, irrigation planning, large industrial proposals, and investigations into local air pollution problems have stimulated interest in topocli...

Walking tracks which cross relatively rugged avalanche-prone terrain are becoming increasingly popular in New Zealand. Consequently, there exists the need to develop a methodology by which it will be possible objectively to assess the avalanche hazard in the vicinity of the tracks. This paper outlines some procedures that have been used to map aval...

Local scale ablation and energy budget measurements are reported for the Ivory glacier in the Southern Alps of New Zealand over 53 days during two consecutive summer periods. Ablation averaged 38 mm day−1, but varied from less than 10 mm day−1 to over 70 mm day−1. Radiation supplied 52% of the energy for glacier melt, with the convective fluxes con...

Both the energy-balance and bulk-aerodynamic approaches are used to determine the bulk-exchange coefficient for transfer of sensible- and latent-heat energy to the melting ice surface from 17 summer days of measurement on Ivory Glacier, New Zealand. The behaviour of the coefficient is examined over progressively increasing time intervals ans as a f...

Walking tracks which cross relatively rugged avalanche-prone terrain are becoming increasingly popular in New Zealand. Consequently, there exists the need to develop a methodology by which it will be possible objectively to assess the avalanche hazard in the vicinity of the tracks. This paper outlines some procedures that have been used to map aval...

Two models that estimate glacier ablation from simple meteorological observations are described. Both the energy-balance and bulk-aerodynamic approaches are used to determine the bulk-exchange coefficient for transfer of sensible- and latent-heat energy to the melting ice surface from 17 summer days of measurement on Ivory Glacier, New Zealand. The...

A nearly continuous record of avalanches on the Canadian Pacific Railway for the 70 years from 1910 is used to identify four major avalanche winters (1919–20, 1932–33, 1934–35 and 1971–72). The selection is based on the frequency and mass of avalanche snow, and the length of rail line affected near Rogers Pass, British Columbia. Daily weather data...

A near continuous record of avalanche deaths in Norway is compiled for 130 years from 1855, and shows a distinct downward trend, but large variations from winter to winter, with a periodicity of 12–13 years. Twelve major avalanche winters are selected, and their synoptic climatology examined using Grosswetterlagen, an index of atmospheric circulati...

Over the midlatitudes, the mean transfer is predominantly from the west, and most developed in summer. Over the subtropics, the mean summer transfer is predominantly from the north or northeast, but in winter a northwest flow prevails. Patterns of water vapor transfer during wet and dry periods over New Zealand differ more in direction than in magn...

Avalanche tarns are a particular morphological form of avalanche impact and 16 of these features are described from the Fiordland region of New Zealand. Average area of the tarns is 11 000m2. All are found at the base of very steep avalanche tracks (slopes 38-59o), where there are no fans, so that there is an abrupt change of slope with the valley...

Avalanche tarns are a particular morphological form of avalanche impact and sixteen of these features are described from the Fiordland region of New Zealand. Average area of the tarns is 11000 m2. Profiles are given for eight of the avalanche paths where such tarns occur. All are found at the base of very steep avalanche tracks (slopes 38–59°), whe...

The need for an avalanche forecasting system in New Zealand is briefly discussed and options relating to approaches to forecasting are outlined. The Craigieburn Range pilot project which operated during the 1982 winter is described by reference to participants, meteorological snow and avalanche observations, the New Zealand Meteorological Service r...

Measurements made near Cromwell, central Otago, from June to October 1980 are described. The sounder chart records were compared with 20 vertical temperature profiles. Inversions formed for more than 40% of the time, and averaged in excess of 180m deep.-from Authors

The site of the proposed aluminium smelter at Aramoana is one of irregular topography. The proximity of hills and water make assessment of dispersion difficult. The air pollution potential of the smelter at Aramoana will be assessed after integration of the results from a multifactor, inter-disciplinary approach.-from Authors

Describes three of the scattered central plains of the S Island and their Quaternary evolution. These are the Canterbury Plain, the Mackenzie country and the lowlands of Southland.-K.Clayton

Rapid melt of a Central Otago mountain snowpack produced, in three days, 97mm of water compared with 150mm of rainfall. The energy sources for the melt were dominated by convective fluxes. -from Authors

Weather, snow conditions, and avalanche activity for a four-month winter period in 1977 are described for Porter Heights Skifield in the Craigieburn Range, South Island, New Zealand. They are analysed to assess the origin of a large, climax-type slab avalanche event in spring. Depth hoar, which formed early in the winter, and light snowfalls produc...

The air temperature record before and after lake filling in 1956 is examined. There has been some cooling relative to other Central Otago climatological stations of 0.3-0.6oC. Factors which make detection of a 'lake effect' difficult are discussed. -from Authors

A 70-Year record has been compiled for avalanches affecting the Canadian Pacific Railway at Rogers Pass, British Columbia. Time series are presented for avalanche frequency, avalanche mass, and length of avalanche debris on the rail line for 26 avalanche paths as well as for winter snow-fall. Winters with the heaviest avalanche activity were 1971-7...

A 70-Year record has been compiled for avalanches affecting the Canadian Pacific Railway at Rogers Pass, British Columbia. Time series are presented for avalanche frequency, avalanche mass, and length of avalanche debris on the rail line for 26 avalanche paths as well as for winter snow-fall. Winters with the heaviest avalanche activity were 1971-7...

Snow hydrology is in its infancy in New Zealand with few studies and measurements. Information on snow is seldom used in water management decisions. This situation has arisen because of lack of agreement on the size and significance of the snow resource. To help resolve this issue the literature on snow and ice studies in New Zealand is reviewed. M...

This paper examines the possibility of establishing workable empirical relationships between seasonal snow accumulation and elevation on New Zealand mountains. The utility of the snow course concept for indexing snow accumulation of New Zealand mountains is related to this question, and is also examined. Accumulation is used here to mean the balanc...

The occurrence of avalanches in New Zealand's seasonal snow zone has only recently been appreciated. Such an avalanche event on the fianks of the Mount Cook and Sealy Ranges is described. Fourteen avalanches of the wet loose snow type transporred an estimated 200 × 103 m3 of water to the valley floor during the event. The morphometric characteristi...

The effects of changing albedo, surface roughness and supply of water on evapotranspiration are simulated with the Myrup numerical model of the energy balance. The model is applied to a hypothetical example in Central Otago, where a scrub/tussock area is converted to improved pasture. Investigation of the model over a wider range of conditions indi...