Climate change is warping geological time, compressing the time scales of natural processes. In photographs taken around the world, Ian van Coller has documented these shifts, reflected in rocks, sediment, and the shrinking of glaciers. Van Coller collaborates with scientists who annotate his images, pointing out key geological features. He also uses historical photos to show changes, juxtaposing the black-and-white images taken by earlier expeditions with today’s landscapes; peaks once covered in snow are now bare rock.
A mud core from Fairy Lake in Montana, superimposed against the surrounding mountains, reveals thousands of years of vegetative history. Geographer James Benes annotated the photo.