Making Climate Change in the Alps Visible – With Your Smartphone

Glaciers are melting, landscapes are changing – but many of these transformations in high mountain environments go unnoticed, as they are local and only briefly visible. This is where the myALPICS citizen science project comes in: using historical photographs and current smartphone images, these changes can be documented. With the free app, mountain enthusiasts can capture their observations through photos and contribute directly to scientific research. Every hike becomes a valuable contribution to climate research – while also offering fascinating glimpses into the past of Alpine landscapes. myALPICS is a Progressive Web App. Simply go to www.myALPICS.com, start using it – and, if you like, add it to your home screen! myALPICS is developed in collaboration with the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien); Eurac Research is responsible for promoting the project and the web app to a broad public, leveraging its network and regional expertise.

App Presentation at the Info Evening The info evening will take place on July 25 at 19:00 in the foyer of the tropical greenhouses at the Botanical Garden Innsbruck. The myALPICS web app will be presented in cooperation with the Austrian Alpine Club (Österreichischer Alpenverein) and the Botanical Garden Innsbruck. • Using the unique collections of the Austrian Alpine Club, we’ll explore how historical artworks, photographs, and documents – such as those of the Vernagtferner Glacier – can make environmental changes visible. • Katharina Ramskogler from Eurac Research will present the SEHAG project and explain how historical images are used to study landscape and vegetation changes in high mountain regions – such as glacial retreat and climate change. • The Botanical Garden Innsbruck will show how historical plant collections contribute to research – and how Alpine vegetation might evolve without human influence.