About

The Glacier RePhoto Project was founded to prevent the loss of valuable historical data documenting glacier change. Over the past century, researchers, adventurers, and agencies have intermittently collected repeat photographs—sequential images taken from the same vantage point, often decades apart—that together form a powerful visual record of environmental change. 

Objectives 

Our primary goal is to organize, georeference, and centralize scattered repeat photography records through two key objectives:

• Database Management. Compile historical repeat photographs, along with precise station coordinates and photographic attributes, into a unified, standardized database.

• Field Acquisition. Capture new repeat photographs at established stations to extend the contemporary record of glacier change and accurately document their locations.

Project History

Hassan Basagic began collecting glacier rephotographs in 2003 in the Sierra Nevada. As his work expanded across the American West, he recognized the need for a unified system to preserve and share these records and formally founded The Glacier RePhoto Project in 2012.

The initial phase documented 292 stations with over 1,400 photographs, establishing database standards for future expansion. Early development was supported by a Mazamas Research Grant, an American Alpine Club Nikwax Alpine Bellwether Grant, and collaboration with Dr. Andrew Fountain and the Glaciers of the American West Project at Portland State University.

Open Data

The station location data are publicly released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), enabling researchers, photographers, and citizen scientists to use these data to acquire new photographs, perform analyses, and support educational efforts.

Please note that glacier photographs themselves are subject to separate copyright and permission levels. Usage terms for individual images are defined in the Image and Data Policies section of this site.

Available Services

While the core station location data are publicly available, the Glacier RePhoto Project provides additional data products and support upon request.

Photo Products

• Aligned repeat photographs, with or without annotations (year, photographer, source)

• Composite or comparison images illustrating glacier change at a given station

Custom Data

• Photo histories summarizing all known images for an individual station

• Tailored station coordinates, metadata, or summaries beyond the public dataset fields

Contribute Data

The Glacier RePhoto Project relies on contributions from researchers, glaciologists, archivists, and citizen scientists to expand and refine the global record of glacier change. We welcome the following submissions:

• Repeat Photographs: New or historical glacier images suitable for alignment and comparison

• Station Coordinates: Field-verified or digitized locations of repeat photography stations

• Metadata: Details on station establishment, photographer, photo dates, and accuracy assessments

We actively seek collaboration to expand the inventory beyond the American West into other glaciated regions.

Contact
To request materials, contribute data, or discuss collaboration, please email:  glacierrephotoproject@gmail.com