Super High Res Photo of Mt. Everest Shows Glacier Melt (But No Bodies)
Photographers from the organization Glacier Works just captured an interactive digital image of Mount Everest in astounding, gigapixel detail
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Viewers can explore the high res photo by zooming in, out or over the mountain. Photo: Glacier Works
Photographers from the organization Glacier Works just captured an interactive digital image of Mount Everest in astounding, gigapixel detail. The photo contains two to three billion pixels, yielding an image so detailed that viewers can zoom in on mountaineers standing in the base camp, miles away, The Huffington Post found. No one mentions whether or not the photos also allow viewers to zoom in on any of the couple hundred of frozen bodies dotting the mountain.
The photo is the product of more than 400 pictures taken with a 300mm lens and then stitched together. Viewers can soar above the mountain, zoom in on the cliffs and crags or pull out to view the landmark in its entirety.
Rather than just a fun graphic, however, the photographic feat was conceived as part of a climate change tracking project. Glaciers such as those found on Everest serve as a stort of canary in a coal mine, showing signs of thinning snow and sloughing glaciers. In addition to monitoring changes at work now, the team is also comparing the new photo to old ones taken from the same vantage point to show the effects of climate change already at work.
More from Smithsonian.com:
There Are Over 200 Bodies on Mount Everest, and They’re Used as Landmarks
Climbing Mount Everest in the Internet Age
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