ABOUT US
MISSION & HISTORY.
Founded in May of 2020, the Oregon Glaciers Institute is focused on studying and preserving these unique and beautiful parts of Oregon. OGI is a group effort of citizen scientists making observations in the field and affiliated scientists working in the high alpine of Oregon.
A century ago, Oregon had at least 50 glaciers and likely many more. Now, the state doesn't even know how many glaciers it has let alone what their future holds.
Similar to today, glaciers were retreating 100 years ago in response to a warming climate; some man made, some natural. This spurred a concerted effort to document glacier change by the likes of the Mazama mountaineering club. But World War II happened and then climate cooled due to human emissions of aerosols and people neglected the glaciers. In the 1980's, reductions in aerosols and increased carbon dioxide emissions renewed glacier recession.
That is where OGI is picking up the mantle to document and study the causes of glacier change in Oregon. From this data, we produce projections of each glacier's future to aid in environmental and economic planning for the citizens of Oregon.
