Lisa McKeon
Biography
Education
B.A. Zoology. 1991. University of Washington, Seattle
Research Interest
Lisa McKeon is a physical scientist who has assisted with a wide array of climate related studies since joining the Climate Change in Mountain Ecosystems project in 1997.Currently, she oversees The Repeat Photography Project, which contributes to documentation of the glaciers of Glacier National Park and provides the basis of many collaborative efforts of educational outreach for climate change.
Science and Products
Grinnell Glacier 1938-2019
USGS employees have taken photos of Grinnell Glacier from this vantage point many times since beginning the Repeat Photography Project in 1997. Each successive photo has shown the glacier to be smaller resulting in the growth of Upper Grinnell Lake.
Image Use
Most of the repeat photography images available on this website are in the public...
Jackson Glacier 1941-2019
This vantage point of Jackson Glacier is familiar to many visitors who stop along Going to the Sun Road to view the glacier. These images are particularly descriptive of the change in the glacier's size because both images show the glacier without much seasonal snow, allowing for a more accurate assessment of the glacier's true size.
Image Use
Most of the repeat photography...
Kintla Glacier 1901-2019
In the 118 years between photos, Kintla Glacier has receded into much smaller, distinct patches.
Image Use
Most of the repeat photography images available on this website are in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission. Images with restrictions are noted below the downloadable image....
Volunteer Repeat Photography
Documenting the loss of ice among the glaciers of Glacier National Park has become an integral part of the USGS Climate Change in Mountain Ecosystems program. Repeating historic photographs augments research and provides an effective means of visually communicating climate change. The USGS encourages volunteer photographers to participate in capturing and submitting repeat photographs of...
Grinnell Glacier from Mount Gould, 1938 - 1981 - 1998 - 2015
Oblique view of Grinnell Glacier taken from the summit of Mount Gould, Glacier National Park. The relative sensitivity of glaciers to climate change is illustrated by the dramatic recession of Grinnell Glacier while surrounding vegetation patterns remain stable.
Image Use
Most of the repeat photography images available on this website are in the...
Grinnell Ridge, Gem & Salamander Glaciers 1910 - 2017
In 1910, Morton Elrod documented how Grinnell Glacier’s mass filled the basin and how the glacier was then joined with the ice apron we now call the Salamander (right). Close inspection of Gem Glacier (top-center) reveals a loss of thickness / volume over the past 107 years as well.
Image Use
Most of the repeat photography images available on this website...
Grinnell Glacier 1938 - 2016
Notice the man standing on the glacier in the center of the historic photograph. The figure lends a frame of reference to the photo pair, allowing the viewer to more easily interpret the depth of ice and the loss of volume when compared to the 2016 image.
Grinnell Glacier 1911 - 2016
The historic image shows how the upper bench of ice flowed into the main body of Grinnell Glacier. By the early 1920s, the glacier’s volume had been reduced to the point that the two pieces became disconnected. The upper bench, considered a separate glacier, was later renamed The Salamander Glacier for its salamander-like profile against the headwall. The Continental Divide runs along the...
Grinnell Glacier, circa 1888-2016
This historic image is one of the oldest images re-photographed among the collection. The massive wall of ice that constituted the terminus of Grinnell Glacier has receded beyond view from this point. Each summer thousands of hikers take the well-worn trail to be rewarded with the sight of the remnant Grinnell Glacier and Upper Grinnell Lake.
Image Use...
Time Series of Glacier Retreat
The retreat of glaciers in Glacier National Park, Montana, has received widespread attention by the media, the public, and scientists because it is a clear and poignant indicator of change in the northern Rocky Mountains of the USA. In 2017 the...
GLACIER SIMULATION
NOTICE: Updated glacier projections are now available for Glacier National Park's glaciers in this 2019 publication.
The simulation reflects the predicted exponential rise in atmospheric CO2...
Climate Change in Mountain Ecosystems (CCME)
Climate change is widely acknowledged to be having a profound effect on the biosphere with many and diverse impacts on global resources. Mountain ecosystems in the western U.S. and the Northern Rockies in particular are highly sensitive to climate change. In fact, the higher elevations of the Northern Rockies have experienced three times the global average temperature increase over the past...
Modeling and measuring snow for assessing climate change impacts in Glacier National Park, Montana
A 12-year program of global change research at Glacier National Park by the U.S. Geological Survey and numerous collaborators has made progress in quantifying the role of snow as a driver of mountain ecosystem processes. Spatially extensive snow surveys during the annual accumulation/ablation cycle covered two mountain watersheds and approximately...
Fagre, Daniel B.; Selkowitz, David J.; Reardon, Blase; Holzer, Karen; Mckeon, Lisa L.
Linking Climate Change Science and Art
What began as an effort to document and analyze the retreat of glaciers in Glacier National Park, has become a collection of striking photographs displayed on museum walls.