Then & Now: The Changing Arctic Landscape

January 24 - May 12, 2014

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a new exhibit at the Museum of the Earth speaks volumes on the effects of climate change in the arctic.

Then & Now: The Changing Arctic Landscape is a nationally touring exhibit on display in Ithaca, NY. The exhibit pairs historic photographs with recent images taken from the same vantage points. Some photo pairs show minor differences, while others reveal dramatic changes to the arctic landscape.

The exhibit Then & Now: The Changing Arctic Landscape lets visitors:

• See the extent of change over time — glaciers recede or disappear altogether; trees and shrubs grow where they did not decades earlier; and topography changes as the underlying permafrost thaws.

• Explore 360-degree photo panoramas of Alaska's North Slope and the Brooks Range. Visitors can zoom in on the high-resolution images to examine vegetation and glacial ice while listening to environmental sounds and descriptions of each place.

• Follow personal narratives from Alaska Native elders that demonstrate how their culture is connected to this fragile landscape.

• Watch animations of how thawing permafrost can change the landscape, and how researchers use midge fly larvae from lake sediments to determine temperatures in the Arctic thousands of years ago.

Then & Now: The Changing Arctic Landscape was produced by the University of Alaska Museum of the North with funding from the Rasmuson Foundation and contributions from Fairbanks Memorial Hospital/Denali Center, Holland America, Doyon Utilities, and Yukon Accounting. Exhibit toured by the Burke Museum, University of Washington.