News

Worldwide glacier information app launches

02.12.2015

The new “wgms Glacier App”, developed by the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), shows how glaciers have evolved around the globe and is being launched on 2 December 2015 in Paris, France, during the UN climate change conference . Developed by glaciologists of the University of Zurich, the app is being launched jointly with UNESCO and provides scientific information and photographs of more than 3 700 glaciers. Users can find out about nearby glaciers and get information about their size, elevation range and ice loss. The app is available free of charge for Apple and Android devices.

The app provides public access to glacier observations around the world. It shows how many glaciers are still advancing and how well developed your country is in glacier monitoring. The “wgms Glacier App” is based on a comprehensive research database and aims at bringing corresponding facts and figures to decision makers at governmental and intergovernmental levels. “We hope to raise the [COP21] delegations’ awareness of climate change happening already today”, states Michael Zemp, Director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service and glaciologist of the University of Zurich.

All observed glaciers are shown on a satellite map on the “wgms Glacier App”. Basic information is provided for each glacier, including photographs and general information on size and elevation. A text search allows the user to filter the glaciers by name, country, region and measurement type. They can learn which glaciers have gained or lost ice over the past decade. A compass shows the closest observed glaciers in all directions from the user’s current position. Users can also play a card game on the app called “Glacier Top Trumps” that allows the user to compare the best observed glacier in the world and to compete against the computer. In addition, graphs with observation data illustrate the glaciers development, along with information on local investigators and detailed explanations of the measurement types. “We want to increase the visibility of the hundreds of glacier observers around the globe. Their work documents the impact of climate change on glaciers”, says Nico Mölg, scientific project leader of the WGMS. The app is available in German, English, Spanish and Russian for Apple and Android devices.

The WGMS jointly developed the “wgms Glacier App” with Ubique in the framework of the international cooperation project CATCOS Phase 2 (Capacity Building and Twinning for Climate Observing Systems). CATCOS Phase 2 is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and coordinated by the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss.

The WGMS has collected worldwide data on glacier changes for more than 120 years. Together with its National Correspondents in more than 35 countries, the international service compiles and disseminates standardized glacier observations in support of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The World Glacier Monitoring Service is hosted at the Department of Geography of the University of Zurich, is co-financed by the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss within the framework of GCOS Switzerland and works under the auspices of ICSU (WDS), IUGG (IACS), UNEP, UNESCO and WMO.