‘Klaus Thymann and Kule Jocknus Bwabu Solomon stand on Mount Baker to photograph Stanley Plateau’s glacier’ by Project Pressure
The scientist and photographer behind the first ever 3D model of Mount Stanley is warning that the peak’s last remaining glacier is melting rapidly – with devastating cultural consequences.
Klaus Thymann and his climate-monitoring charity Project Pressure led an expedition to the Rwenzori Mountains – a Unesco World Heritage site on the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The goal was to chart the range’s three peaks and create a 3D model of its highest, Mount Stanley, home to Kithasamba, a god worshipped by the Bakonzo people. They believe 30 gods linked to different natural resources live on the mountain.
“The upper regions are still glaciated, but the ice is melting at alarming rates and will likely disappear in our lifetime,” according to Project Pressure, who have also installed longterm time-lapse cameras to monitor glacial shrinkage.
“For the Bakonzo people, loss of the ice has enormous cultural implications ... A central belief is that their gods, Kithasamba and Nyabibuya, reside in the ice of Rwenzori. For centuries, this spiritual connection has influenced how the Bakonzo interact with their environment, reinforcing conservation efforts and sustainable use of natural resources, long before colonial or modern times.”
Thymann, who has led 60 expeditions across six continents, explains below how the 3D model was created and highlights the implications of the research findings.
‘A Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger accompanies the expedition to the Rwenzori Mountains’ by Project Pressure
Project Pressure led an expedition to Rwenzori in East Africa to create the first-ever 3D model of Mount Stanley’s last remaining glacier. Why?
The reason for the 3D model is really to have data in our ‘one stop shop’. By combining ultra-precise GPS, drone surveys creating photogrammetry, and ground-penetrating radar, we get a detailed visual- and data-rich model. It has the altitude, it has the surface area of the glacier, it has the ice depth and so on, and now we are equipped to calculate the changes in this area.
This mountain has never ever been mapped in this way – this is a world first to have such good data for this area and it enables the locals to plan for an uncertain future.
What's the cultural and scientific significance of your findings?
We have found that the ice on Mount Stanley is likely to disappear very soon – we’re talking years rather than decades. And for the Bakonzo people who live in the Rwenzori Mountains, the cultural significance is hard to overestimate as their god, Kitasamba, lives in the ice. That means God is about to become homeless. I’m not sure this has ever happened before – that we humans have destroyed the home of God.
From a scientific perspective, the findings are important because climate change does not affect different regions equally, therefore local data and knowledge is important for communities to be able to adapt.
‘Lake Bujuku, one of several lakes partly formed and replenished by glacial meltwater, sits between mounts Stanley, Baker and Spek’ by Project Pressure
How was the 3D model created?
The 3D model is in essence a map in three dimensions. For a map to be accurate, the coordinates need to be precise. We partnered with Trimble, the leading experts in ultra-precise, advanced GPS technology. We used one of our systems, Catalyst, to set up targets on the glacier in 10 places. Those are visual targets where we take the coordinate for each and then fly a drone survey, creating photogrammetry.
The drone survey consists of more than 850 images. The drone captures the targets we have the coordinates for. That way, you can transfer the coordinates into the visual data set.
The hundreds of images are then processed and put into 3D software where their coordinates are then extrapolated. Now we have our precise coordinate for each point on this 3D map, we can calculate the outline of the glacier, the elevation and so on. That's essentially how a model like this is created.
Can photography and image-making change the way we live our lives?
Working in science image use and image-making is changing the way we create data sets. It’s only fairly recently that the processing power and ability to use these very large visual data sets has become something you can do with off-the-shelf software. It’s not prohibitively expensive to work this way.
If we look at this mountain, doing such precise measurements would not be feasible without using photography, so yes, image-making is changing how we live our lives.
It also gives a collaborative way to work with photography. Conducting the science projects I do, I work in a multidisciplinary way where different team members have different skill sets. It’s easy to invite people into your projects to contribute something specific. It’s also a strong way to communicate your science to have a visualisation.
‘The Rwenzori Mountains once held glaciers on three peaks, but climate change has led to massive glacier loss’ by Project Pressure
What’s next for you?
While there’s a lot going on and I’m working on several projects, I also tend to work on long-term projects. I have been [taking part in expeditions to the Rwenzori Mountains] since 2012. When we installed timelapse cameras in January 2025 I thought, ‘This is the last time I have to go because now the locals can take over the data collection’ but – and there’s always a but – I’m in conversations about creating documentary films about this so it’s likely I’ll go back.
I love the area and I love the people I collaborate with there, and they have become close friends over the years, so let’s see what happens next.
‘Uganda Wildlife Authority Guide Muhindo Rogers views Mount Baker, which has lost its glacier’ by Project Pressure
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