A Song of Our Warming Planet uses cello to illustrate changes in global temperature
A Song of Our Warming Planet from Ensia on Vimeo.
Digital Reporter
Tuesday, July 2, 2013, 1:57 PM -
University of Minnesota student Daniel Crawford is using music to illustrate the global effects of climate change.
During an internship with professor Scott St. George, Crawford used a process called data sonification to transform climate data into musical notes.
"Data visualizations are effective for some people, but they aren't the best way to reach everyone," St. George said in a posting to Vimeo.
"Instead of giving people something to look at, Dan’s performance gives them something they can feel."
Each note in the song corresponds to a year, and the pitch of that note represents the average global temperature of that year.
Higher pitches represent warmer years, lower pitches cooler ones.
The data begins in 1880 and continues through to present day, creating a haunting song that doubles as an accurate piece of scientific data.
