Sights and sounds

Scientists usually transmit evidence about climate change via information-rich data graphics. Visualizations such as the Keeling Curve or the “‘Hockey Stick” are icons of climate science, and charts and maps illustrating the most recent changes in global temperatures are the subject of intensive news coverage and significant public interest upon their release. A well-designed graphic can help audiences to quickly understand the main message embedded within a complex set of climate data and to retain those ideas longer than if they were conveyed by words alone. But these visual aids also have limitations: they are most easily understood by people who are fluent in technical illustrations; they are usually static and sometimes do not tell an obvious story; and many people do not respond to them emotionally. Music, by contrast, builds each note or phrase upon those that came before, and can exert a powerful influence on human emotions. Because of these characteristics, sonification—the transformation of data into acoustic signals—may have considerable promise as a tool to enhance the communication of climate science. Here we report on a musical collaboration between scientists and artists at the University of Minnesota that puts a new spin on a MAKING CLIMATE DATA SING Using Music-like Sonifications to Convey a Key Climate Record