Our Impacts
Our science aims to have economic, societal, environmental and cultural impact beyond the academic research. We are involved in assessing climate change science for policymakers. We contribute to improving the public understanding of the impacts of climate change via media articles and interviews. We also engage people in our science and Antarctica through videos and school outreach activities.
Science for Policymakers
Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Andrew Mackintosh was a Lead Author of the Polar Regions chapter of the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). This chapter assesses the state of physical, biological and social knowledge concerning the Arctic and Antarctic ocean and cryosphere, how they are affected by climate change, and how they will evolve in future. He was also a contributing author to the Sea Level Rise chapter, which assesses past and future contributions to global, regional and extreme sea level changes, associated risk to low-lying islands, coasts, cities, and settlements, and response options and pathways to resilience and sustainable development along the coast.
Media Coverage
Our research has been featured by various media outlets. Here are some examples.
New Zealand's melting glaciers show the human fingerprints of climate change
The Guardian
New research has found extreme melting of the country’s glaciers in 2018 was at least ten times more likely due to human-caused global heating. There’s some change that we’re committed to, but if we cut greenhouse gas emissions we still might save some of the higher altitude glaciers.
The findings were published in Nature Climate Change.
‘Cluster of cold years’ behind New Zealand’s surprising glacier growth
Carbon Brief
Across the world, scientists have recorded the retreat of hundreds of glaciers, providing categorical evidence that the Earth’s climate is warming. But in a few pockets, glaciers have bucked this trend by advancing. In the Southern Alps of New Zealand, a cluster of cold years locally allowed the glaciers to advance.
The findings were published in Nature Communications.
Antarctic glacier's past rapid retreat
Radio New Zealand
The East Antarctic Ice Sheet has long been thought more stable than the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, where the melting of several glaciers has now reached the point of no return. This research adds evidence that the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is not a sleeping giant, but has in the past responded quickly to warming.
The findings were published in Nature Communications.
The Cold, Hard Truth
NZ Geographic
New Zealand’s glaciers are significant not because of their size but their dynamism. Thanks to their steepness, the amount of snow deposited in their catchments, the funnel-shaped topography and their fast melt, New Zealand's glaciers register change faster than others anywhere else on Earth.