Data & Documentation

Data Access

Please review the Disclaimer and License below before downloading Photo Station location data.

DISCLAIMER

This data provides historical or current geographic locations of rephotograph stations. Users should be aware that these sites are often located in remote, difficult, or potentially hazardous glacial, high-altitude, or wilderness environments.

Accuracy: Coordinates may contain errors or be subject to changes in landscape (e.g., glacier retreat, rockfall) over time. They are intended for research and informational purposes only.

Risk: The use of these coordinates to physically locate the stations is "at the user's sole risk". The compiler and publisher, "The Glacier RePhoto Project", assume no responsibility for the safety, well-being, or legal compliance of individuals who choose to visit or attempt to visit these locations.

Safety: Do not attempt to access any location without proper equipment, training, necessary permits, and knowledge of current conditions (including weather, snowpack, and glacier stability).

Waiver: By downloading and using this data, the user acknowledges and agrees to these terms and waives any claim against the compiler related to accessing or using the locations.

LICENSE AND TERMS OF USE

This data is released under the "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)". You are free to: 

• Share: copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.  

• Adapt: remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. Under the following terms:

Under the following terms:

Attribution: You must give appropriate credit (citing Hassan Basagic / The Glacier RePhoto Project), provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. If you use this data in a project, publication, or presentation, please cite the data as follows:

Basagic, Hassan. The Glacier RePhoto Project. "Glacier Photograph Station Locations (v2025)." Last modified [Modified Date]. Accessed [Current Date]. https://www.glacierrephoto.org.

For the full legal code of the CC BY 4.0 license, please visit:  [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/]

By clicking download, you agree to the license and terms of use. Registration is optional but helps us understand how the dataset is being used in research and education. 

Database Description

This project stores records of glacier rephoto stations, glacier rephoto images, and image metadata within a geospatial database. The database consists of two tables.

The Photo Station Table stores information on the location, establishment, and image summary statistics on image count and the date when the station was last occupied.

Photo Metadata is stored in a second table, which includes information on the photographer, date, and observations on glacier conditions and changes from previous images. A one-to-many relationship is maintained between the photo stations and the image metadata tables.

Glacier rephoto images are stored separately at multiple levels of post-processing. A low-resolution image is stored as an attachment to the image metadata table.

Data Dictionary

The embedded spreadsheet below contains the Data Dictionary for the Station and Photo metadata datasets. This dictionary serves as a reference, providing field names, detailed definitions, corresponding data types, and allowed value domains used in the database. 

Image and Data Policies

Images are assigned three permission levels: Public, Protect, and Restricted. Each permission level defines how the image can be used by The Glacier RePhoto Project and the public. The photographer maintains the copyright on their images at all three permission levels. 

Public:  Permission is granted to The Glacier Rephoto Project to publish on the web or print at full resolution and distribute to public requests with proper citation of photographer and/or source.

Protect:  Permission is limited to the display of the image on the web to a resolution of 1600 pixels on the long edge of the image. Lower resolution limits are available on request by photographer. The photographer and/or source must be contacted prior to using the image in any way outside of this project.

Restrict: Permission is restricted to storage of an archive copy only and will be used for research purposes only. Requests for publishing will be referred to the photographer and/or source.