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Chris Linder
Seattle, WA, USA

Chris Linder specializes in communicating science to the public using photography and multimedia.  Chris holds a Master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program and maintains a part-time affiliation with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as a Research Associate.

Since 2002, Chris has focused on communicating the stories of scientists working in the Arctic and Antarctic. His education and training as an oceanographer give him a special insight into photographing marine science. He has spent over a year of his life on expeditions to the polar regions.

His most recent project, "Live from the Poles", connected researchers with the public during the International Polar Year (2007-2009) using daily online photo essays (polardiscovery.whoi.edu) and lectures "from the ice" to museum audiences nationwide via satellite phone. This project, funded by the National Science Foundation and the Richard King Mellon Foundation, took him from the Greenland Ice Sheet to the Bering Sea and penguin colonies on Antarctica’s Ross Island.  Chris’s work-in-progress science documentary projects include: Siberia’s “Carbon bomb”, Antarctica’s Ross Sea ecosystem, and the impacts of climate change on Greenland.

Chris's images have appeared in museums, books, calendars, and international magazines, including Geo (Germany), Nature’s Best, Outdoor Photographer, and Wired. A solo exhibition of his photographs, titled “Exploring the Arctic Seafloor,” opened at the Field Museum in Chicago in February 2007 and is currently touring science and natural history museums. He is currently finishing a book titled Science on Ice for the University of Chicago Press, which will be published in Fall 2011. He has been recognized with awards from the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards, and International Conservation Photography Awards competitions.

His work is represented by Aurora Photos, Visuals Unlimited, and Mountain Light Pictures.

Recent Buzz
An Interview with Chris Linder
An Interview with Chris Linder
Feb 21, 2011 // Expose: Blog
Challenging Science Stereotypes with Science on Ice
Challenging Science Stereotypes with Science on Ice
Dec 9, 2011 // Expose: Blog
Related Projects
Wyoming RAVE
Wyoming RAVE
Apr 19 ~ Apr 23, 2008
Pinedale, Wy
Borderlands RAVE
Borderlands RAVE
Jan 25 ~ Feb 18, 2009
Related Books
The Wealth of Nature
The Wealth of Nature
CEMEX Conservation Series
2009-10-31 00:00:00
Fresh Water: The Essence of Life
Fresh Water: The Essence of Life
CEMEX Conservation Series
2010-12-15 00:00:00
  • Fraser River
    Video

Fraser River

by Chris Linder


The Fraser is unique—it escaped the flurry of dam building that has altered nearly every other large river on the planet.

by Chris Linder

The Fraser River watershed, located in the Canadian province of British Columbia, includes the rain-soaked peaks of the Coast Range, the Canadian Rockies, and the dry sagebrush prairie ecosystem in between. The Fraser is unique—it escaped the flurry of dam building that has altered nearly every other large river on the planet. Yet, the Fraser faces other threats. The mountain pine beetle epidemic, which is raging unchecked due to a string of mild winters, may eliminate up to 80% of the native pine forest. As these dead trees are harvested, the exposed soil will receive more of the sun's heat, which will increase the temperature of the river water. If the water temperature exceeds 20 degrees C, salmon will no longer return to the Fraser—dubbed "the World's Greatest Salmon River"—to breed. Pollution from logging and pulp mills and excess nutrient input and contamination from mining operations also impact the health of the river.

In May 2011, when the Fraser swelled to overflowing with meltwater and rain, Dr. Bernhard Peucker-Ehrenbrink and graduate students Britta Voss and Sarah Rosengard traveled the length of the river, from the delta to the headwaters, taking samples from both the main stem and critical tributaries along the way. Their data, supplemented by more frequent measurements made by students from the University of the Fraser Valley, will be used to assess how the river and its watershed are changing—for better or worse—over the coming years.

I am grateful for aerial support provided by LightHawk for this assignment. This project has been featured as a Tripods in the Sky initiative by the International League of Conservation Photographers.

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Related Photographers
Chris Linder
Related Partners
Lighthawk
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Woods Hole Oceaneanic Institution
Related Projects
Fraser River TIS
Fraser River TIS
May 22 ~ Jun 9, 2011
The Fraser River, BC
Expose: Blog List All Expose: Blog >
Challenging Science Stereotypes with Science on Ice
Dec 9, 2011
Challenging Science Stereotypes with Science on Ice
Dec 9, 2011
Chris Linder
What do you think of when you hear the word “scientist?"
An Interview with Chris Linder
Feb 21, 2011
An Interview with Chris Linder
Feb 21, 2011
Technology is critical to what I do... When the audience can follow the action day to day as it’s happening,...
2011 List All 2011 >
Fraser River TIS
May 22 ~ Jun 9, 2011
The Fraser River, BC
2009 List All 2009 >
Borderlands RAVE
Jan 25 ~ Feb 18, 2009
2008 List All 2008 >
Wyoming RAVE
Apr 19 ~ Apr 23, 2008
Pinedale, Wy
The iLCP Wyoming Range/Red Desert RAVE was the first RAVE to take place in the United States.
CEMEX Conservation Series List All CEMEX Conservation Series >
OCEANS: Heart of our Blue Planet
Nov 23, 2011
With photography from the International League of Conservation photographers...
Water makes life on Earth possible, and every drop of it comes from and returns to the ocean. For centuries we have taken the ocean for granted, viewed it as inexhaustible,unknowable; a vast, briny, deep...
Fresh Water: The Essence of Life
Dec 15, 2010
With imagery from the International League of Conservation Photographers...
Fresh Water: The Essence of Life is a beautifully depicted look at the current state of our Earth’s freshwater ecosystems. A variety of authors, as well as dozens of riveting photographs and figures,...
The Wealth of Nature
Oct 31, 2009
Authors: J. McNeely, R. Mittermeier, T. Brooks, F Boltz, N Ash || Photos...
In an era of change and conflict, who do we look towards for answers to our most serious problems?
A Climate for Life: Meeting the Global Challenge
Jan 1, 2008
A CLIMATE FOR LIFE: Meeting the Global Challenge examines the impact of climate change on biodiversity and focuses on the most important challenges currently facing life on our planet.
Photographer Books List All Photographer Books >
Science on Ice: Four Polar Expeditions
Nov 16, 2011
Chris Linder, with essays by Helen Fields, Lonny Lippsett, Amy Nevala,...
Oceanographer and photographer Chris Linder chronicles four polar science expeditions in this richly illustrated volume, from Adélie penguin colonies to the Greenland Ice Sheet. Each trip finds Linder...
The Photographer's Guide to Cape Cod and the Islands
Jun 29, 2007
Chris Linder
Detailed descriptions and maps will guide you to the Cape and Islands' prime photography locations—both iconic landmarks and off-the-beaten-track hotspots.
Photo © Mike Carlowicz, WHOI
Chris Linder uses photography and multimedia to educate the public about science.
  • iLCP Photographer Since 2007
  • Specialties
    • Wildlife
    • Science
    • Landscapes
    • Photojournalism
    • Macro
    • Cultural
    • Behind the scenes
    • Aerial
    • Multimedia
  • Shoot Locations
    • Africa
    • Europe
    • Antarctica
    • North America
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