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

his project manages an archive of glacier rephotography stations, camera perspectives, and temporal image records within a robust geospatial database. To facilitate long-term monitoring, the database uses a three-tier relational inventory:

• Stations: Represents the physical ground location. This layer tracks site establishment, current status, and summary statistics, including total image counts and the date the station was last occupied. 

• Views: Defines specific camera orientations (bearing and pitch) from a station. By separating "Views" from "Stations," we maintain precise alignment for repeat photography across decades. A one-to-many relationship connects each Station to its various Views.

• Photos: Contains detailed metadata for every image captured. This includes the photographer, capture date, and qualitative observations of glacier conditions. A one-to-many relationship is maintained between Views and Photos, allowing for a chronological sequence of images from the exact same perspective.

Image Storage: The Glacier Rephoto image libarary is managed at multiple post-processing levels. For rapid web viewing and field reference, low-resolution versions are stored as attachments directly within the Photo 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.