STUART CHAPE
Glacial blue

A series of images photographed from a light aircraft of the snow-covered glacial landscapes of the South Island, New Zealand. The images record the blue-grey waters of the braided Tasman, Godley and Cass rivers flowing into Lakes Pukaki and Tekapo from the high mountains of the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. The blue colour is due to fine silt particles, or glacial flour, in the water results from glacial erosion. The silt is so fine it does not settle to the bottom quickly, remaining in suspension in the lake water and defracts light to create different shades of colour in the water. Glacial landscapes are threatened globally by climate change as glaciers melt as a result of global warming.

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