« A photo you take from yourself is an ego-portrait. When you take a photo of a glacier, it is an “icy« . »
It is on this intro that a skewer of people and organizations dedicated to studying the impact of climate change in Canada, launched the ICY project.
The ICY quoi?
It is a new community science project carried out in two national parks and three provincial parks in Canada. Parks Canada, British Columbia Parks, BC Parks Foundation and the University of Waterloo are all in the spot.
What is a project that consists of?
To invite tourists to do this:
“Visitors will help scientists monitor the evolution of glaciers over time simply by taking and submitting photos, allowing each participant to contribute to essential work in terms of environmental research, while taking breathtaking images and creating unforgettable memories at the same time” announces the press release.
In a more technical jargon of the thing, we learn that cell phone supports have been installed at certain specific points of view, and fixed, on or near certain glaciers, in parks of Western Canada: the national jasper parks and glaciers, as well as in the Bogaboo, Garibaldi and Mont Robson provincial parks.
“Visitors have only to place their phone in the support provided, to take a photo of the glacier and to submit it by means of the QR code on site or through the Georeach website at https://georeach.ca/. »»
It is added that clear guidelines at each place guide the participants throughout the process.
And after?
Over the coming months, and perhaps years, researchers from the University of Waterloo will analyze the photos received to monitor the evolution of glaciers. They will analyze the decline, the slimming and disappearance of these glaciers, thus offering a precious overview of the repercussions of climate change.
The project is based on the success of the “Coastie” project, launched in 2021, as part of which the photos submitted by visitors help monitor the evolution of the coast in Atlantic Canada.