Users find out
about nearby glaciers and get information about their size,
elevation range,
and ice loss. (Image: World Glacier
Monitoring Service)
(November 30, 2015) A
new «wgms Glacier App» of the World Glacier Monitoring Service shows how
glaciers have evolved around the globe. Users find out about nearby glaciers
and get information about their size, elevation range, and ice loss.
Glaciologists of the University of Zurich developed the new app and launched it
jointly with UNESCO in the forefront of the UN Climate Conference in Paris. The
app is available free of charge for Apple and Android devices.
A compass shows
the closest observed glaciers in all directions from the
user's current
position. (Image: World Glacier Monitoring Service)
The «wgms Glacier App» provides scientific information and
photographs of more than 3,700 glaciers. The app of the World Glacier
Monitoring Service, hosted at the University of Zurich, provides public access
to glacier observations from around the world. It shows how many glaciers are
still advancing or how well developed glacier monitoring in your country is.
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. Glaciologists of the University of Zurich
launched the new app jointly with UNESCO in the forefront of the UN Climate
Conference in Paris. «We hope to raise the 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.
The app shows
all observed glaciers on a satellite map.
(Image: World
Glacier Monitoring Service)
Increase the
visibility of glacier observers
The «wgms Glacier App» shows all observed glaciers on a
satellite map. 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. The card game allows the user to compare the best observed
glacier in the world and to compete against the computer in the «Glacier Top
Trumps». 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 World Glacier Monitoring Service.
The card game
allows the user to compare the best observed glacier in the
world and to
compete against the computer in the «Glacier Top Trumps».
(Image: World
Glacier Monitoring Service)
Available in four
languages
The «wgms Glacier App» is available in German, English,
Spanish and Russian for Apple and Android devices. It was jointly developed by
the World Glacier Monitoring Service and Ubique, the company responsible for
the technical implementation of the App. «The wealth of glacier data is
optimally visualized with a great usability for each audience through the
different interfaces such as map and text search, compass, and glacier game»,
says Mathias Wellig, CEO of Ubique.