Scientific Objective - During the 20th century, these three peaks are known to have supported glaciers. Since the 1970s tropical glaciers have been retreating quickly. This retreat has been mapped using advances in satellite imagery. In 2008, the World Glacier Monitoring Service, under the auspices of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), published the first Global Glacier Changes: Facts and Figures report. This highlighted that the average annual melting rate of glaciers appears to have doubled after the turn of the millennium. If the trend continues, it is possible that glaciers may completely disappear from many mountain ranges in the 21st century. Both parties also warn that data gaps exist in some vulnerable parts of the globe, undermining the ability to provide precise early warning for countries and populations at risk. Our scientific objective is to help fill one of these gaps. A better understanding of the changes in these small ice masses will provide a vital record of climate change information in this remote region.

Puncak Jaya is known to still support glaciers and these are heavily studied; Puncak Trikora supported a small ice cap which disappeared during the period 1939-62; Puncak Mandala held an ice cap that researchers believe disappeared entirely before March 2003. However, research on Mandala has been limited to a desktop review of existing satellite imagery from 1973 to 2007. Our expedition aims to verify the existence and extent of ice cap cover on the ground on all three peaks to support this vital ongoing research.We will create a photographic record of the current extent of glaciers for analysis by scientists at three institutions, as follows:

Dr. Andrew Ruddell - World Glacier Monitoring Service; Dr. Andrew Klein - Texas A&M University; Dr. Mike Prentice - Indiana University

UNEP believe that there is mounting evidence that climate change is triggering a shrinking and thinning of many glaciers world-wide which may eventually put at risk water supplies for hundreds of millions of people. Our expedition will support research that aims to reduce uncertainty over the sensitivity of the tropical troposphere to various forcings, which is a first-order uncertainty in global climate model predictions of the greenhouse effect. This will inform future climate change strategy, which will influence both human population and biodiversity conservation strategies.