Evidencia
Regular price $35.50Evidencia: A Century of High Alpine Landscape Change in the Peruvian Andes Revealed by Mining Lost Aerial Photo Archives
Join the Explorers Club on January 27th to hear about a fascinating project intersecting history and climate science, as well as two parallel Andean expeditions, 92 years apart.
About 22% of the world’s population depends on snowpack and glaciers for water resources. Climate change is having profound impacts on these resources in the tropical high Andes, confronting communities with fundamental decisions on how to modify livelihoods and resource use. When meeting with communities, a common request is heard: the need for Evidencia – evidence of how the past differs from present, as a guide to the future.
Using novel methodology, Dr. Anton and Dr. Tracie Seimon lead a National Geographic-supported project replicating aerial landscape scenes from lost photos taken almost a century ago, revealing stark impacts of climate change on alpine glaciers and water resources. The focus was on the Cordillera Vilcanota in Peru –– among the most important regions for high alpine climate study in the global tropics. Applying a groundbreaking approach to air photo analysis, the pair determined precise camera positions for high-resolution images taken by the 1931 Shippee-Johnson Expedition that chronicled the icebound range, decades before climate warming-driven ice loss and satellite-based monitoring. In 2023, they re-photographed those 1931 aerial scenes, enabling direct comparisons and precise measurements of change over 92 years that now can be related to observed biological, ecological and social landscape changes. These findings offer critical Evidencia for local communities and environmental planners, while also educating global audiences on how climate change has already transformed mountain landscapes of the high Andes.
In-person tickets are $20 for Members, and $35 for the General Public.
Check-in will begin at 6:00 pm, with a beer and wine reception from 6:00 – 7:00 pm