An Oceanographic Music Mix – Marine Technology News

Report on Artistic Interpretations of Climate Data to Advance Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

A growing number of interdisciplinary initiatives are translating complex oceanographic and climate data into artistic expressions, primarily music and kinetic installations. These projects serve as powerful tools for science communication, aiming to bridge the gap between empirical data and public understanding. This report analyzes several such initiatives, highlighting their direct and indirect contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 4 (Quality Education), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Analysis of Key Initiatives

Monash University: The Dark Oceanography Initiative

• Objective: To integrate climate science with experimental music to foster a deeper connection between data, understanding, and action on climate change.
• Methodology: The project team used high-resolution Lagrangian tracking data of ocean eddies and translated their pathways into musical compositions.
• Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals:
  1. SDG 13 (Climate Action): By sonifying the movement of global ocean currents, the project makes the vast and abstract processes of the climate system more tangible, encouraging public engagement with climate science.
  2. SDG 14 (Life Below Water): The music directly represents the dynamics of marine ecosystems, raising awareness about the health and function of the Southern Ocean.
  3. SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals): This initiative is a model of interdisciplinary partnership, uniting artists from The Sound Collectors Lab with scientists from the ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather.

University of South Florida: Sonification of Marine Environmental Stressors

• Objective: To transform complex environmental data into musical compositions to make the information more accessible, understandable, and engaging for the public.
• Methodology: A team of professors, musicians, and students composed music that sonically represents environmental stressors affecting oysters in Florida, building on previous work related to harmful algae blooms.
• Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals:
  1. SDG 14 (Life Below Water): The compositions directly highlight critical threats to marine biodiversity and coastal ecosystems, such as red tides and pressures on keystone species like oysters.
  2. SDG 4 (Quality Education): The project is a clear example of innovative educational outreach, translating scientific data into an accessible medium to enhance public environmental literacy.

UC San Diego: “Six Seasons” Composition

• Objective: To create an immersive and interactive musical experience using authentic sounds recorded from the ocean.
• Methodology: The composition by Professor Lei Liang invites musicians to perform alongside and interact with audio recordings captured from deep ocean environments.
• Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals:
  1. SDG 14 (Life Below Water): This work fosters a direct auditory connection to the marine world, promoting appreciation for and awareness of the ocean’s acoustic environment, which is increasingly impacted by anthropogenic noise.
  2. SDG 13 (Climate Action): By preserving and presenting the current soundscape of the ocean, the composition provides an artistic baseline that can be used to illustrate the acoustic changes resulting from climate change and other human activities over time.

Die Mimik der Tethys (The Expressions of Tethys)

• Objective: To connect audiences with the dynamic nature of the ocean through a physical, movement-based installation.
• Methodology: A buoy located in the Atlantic Ocean transmits its real-time motion data via satellite to a duplicate buoy suspended in an exhibition space. Electric motors and winches precisely reproduce the ocean buoy’s movements.
• Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals:
  1. SDG 14 (Life Below Water): The installation offers a tangible representation of the ocean’s power and state, fostering a physical connection to the marine environment and its complex dynamics.
  2. SDG 4 (Quality Education): It presents a novel pedagogical approach, allowing for the kinesthetic learning and understanding of complex oceanographic data.

Conclusion: Advancing Global Goals Through Interdisciplinary Action

The initiatives detailed in this report demonstrate a clear trend towards using art as a medium for impactful science communication. Their contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals are significant:

1. Enhancing Education and Awareness (SDG 4): These projects successfully translate abstract scientific data into engaging sensory experiences, making critical environmental issues accessible to a broader public audience.
2. Promoting Climate and Ocean Action (SDG 13 & SDG 14): By creating empathetic and intuitive connections to the climate system and marine ecosystems, these works can motivate public concern and support for policies aimed at protecting life below water and taking urgent climate action.
3. Fostering Collaboration (SDG 17): Each project is founded on successful partnerships between scientific institutions, universities, and the artistic community, embodying the collaborative spirit required to address complex global challenges.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 13: Climate Action
  • The article directly mentions the “climate crisis discourse” and a project that “integrates climate science with experimental music.” This shows a clear connection to taking action on climate change by improving public understanding and engagement, which is a core component of climate action.
• SDG 14: Life Below Water
  • The article is fundamentally about the ocean. It discusses projects that translate data about ocean phenomena like “eddies from the Eastern Australian Current,” “harmful algae blooms and red tides,” “environmental stressors affecting oysters,” and sounds from the “depths of the ocean.” These topics are central to the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
   • The article describes multiple initiatives whose primary goal is to “bridge the gap between data, understanding, reflection and action” regarding climate and environmental science. The project at the University of South Florida explicitly “aims to make scientific data more accessible, understandable and engaging to the public,” which directly aligns with improving education and awareness on climate-related issues.
2. Target 14.a: Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology… in order to improve ocean health.
   • The projects discussed are examples of innovative methods for increasing and disseminating scientific knowledge. They use “Lagrangian tracking data,” data on “harmful algae blooms,” and “motion data via satellite” from buoys. By transforming this complex scientific data into music and art, they are effectively transferring knowledge about ocean health from the scientific community to the public, thereby increasing overall scientific literacy on marine issues.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Implied Indicator for Target 13.3: Public engagement and understanding of climate and ocean science.
   • The article does not mention official UN indicators but implies that the success of these projects is measured by their ability to make “scientific data more accessible, understandable and engaging.” The creation and dissemination of musical compositions, films, and kinetic sculptures based on climate and ocean data serve as a proxy indicator for efforts to raise public awareness.
2. Mentioned Data Types as Proxies for Official Indicators for Target 14.a: Specific oceanographic data points.
   • The article explicitly mentions the types of scientific data being collected and used, which are the basis for official indicators of ocean health. These include:
     • “Lagrangian tracking data at an eddy-resolving resolution (0.10ᵒ)” to monitor ocean currents.
     • Data on “harmful algae blooms and red tides.”
     • Data on “environmental stressors affecting oysters.”
     • “Sounds recorded from the depths of the ocean.”
     • “Motion data via satellite” from a high sea buoy.
   • While the article focuses on communicating this data, the data itself is what would be used to measure the state of marine ecosystems and track progress towards improving ocean health.

Summary of Findings

Source: marinetechnologynews.com