• Home
  • Energy
  • Sustainability
  • Climate Change
    • Eco Editorial
  • Environment
    • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Pollution
      • Global Warming
      • Population Explosion
      • Renewable Energy
      • Species Extinction
      • Sustainable Management of Resources
    • Animals
    • Pollution
    • Environmental Policy
  • Green Technology
    • Green Tips
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Energy
  • Sustainability
  • Climate Change
    • Eco Editorial
  • Environment
    • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Pollution
      • Global Warming
      • Population Explosion
      • Renewable Energy
      • Species Extinction
      • Sustainable Management of Resources
    • Animals
    • Pollution
    • Environmental Policy
  • Green Technology
    • Green Tips
  • Contact Us
Listening to the Sound of Global Warming through Cello Music
October 16, 2013

There’s no doubt we can literally feel global warming and worldwide climate change: record breaking rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and torrential floods hitting many parts of the world among others can hardly be denied. Climate change issues can also be interpreted visually thanks to (modern) reader-friendly data graphics and infographics. At a glance, government energy agendas, solar power, and alternative fuels technology can be understood with its implication on environmental health and natural resources. And in worst-case scenarios, climate change might just be experienced in the gustatory plane due to favorite foods that will soon be missing on the table thanks to climate change effects.

Now, a project supported by the Institute on the Environment, the College of Liberal Arts, the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, and the School of Music at the University of Minnesota brings us a whole new way to experience climate change: through sound. Specifically, through cello music.

“A Song of Our Warming Planet” is a solo cello piece which translates global temperature records into a series of musical notes mapped over three octaves. Its composer, University of Minnesota undergrad Daniel Crawford, used a data sonification approach to communicate the immediacy of the global challenge through his instrument.

In Huffpost Green, Crawford discusses how the idea of putting the crisis of global warming into music came about after a discussion with his geography professor Scott St. George. The professor had asked Crawford if it was possible to convert a set of data into music. In Ensia, Professor St. George says, “Data visualizations are effective for some people, but they aren’t the best way to reach everyone.” The result of the brainstorm was Crawford’s solo cello piece “A Song of Our Warming Planet.” According to Professor St. George, “Instead of giving people something to look at, Dan’s performance gives them something they can feel.”

The data set of “A Song of Our Warming Planet” was based on surface temperature data from the 1800s to 2000. NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies is the source of the data set. Spanning a range of three octaves, the pitch of the piece directly represents the average surface temperature of the Earth relative to the 1951 to 1980 baseline. Low notes correspond to cool years and high ones indicate warm years.

The cello makes for a profound interpretation of the temperature records. In the video, a dynamic line on a temperature record graph rises and falls along with the notes of the cello. The lowest note on the cello, an open C, represented the coldest year on the data set record at -0.47 °C in the year 1909. The instrument’s range of low notes is explored during a series of cold years between the late 18th and early 20th century. But the music piece moves up into mid-register as the graph begins to spike higher in the 1940s. Finally, the cello vibrates shrill high notes as the graph hits the ‘90s and 2000s. The piece ends with a tense, almost questioning high note as it reaches the present time with its record-breaking temperature records.

The video ends with the scientists’ forecast of a hotter planet in the future, with at least a predicted rise of another 1.8 °C by the end of 2100. According to the project video,

“This further warming of the planet will produce high notes well beyond the range of human hearing.”

Crawford says of the project,

“Climate scientists have a standard toolbox to communicate their data… We’re trying to add another tool to that toolbox, another way to communicate these ideas to people who might get more out of music than maps, graphs and numbers.”

Eco
Share

Climate Change

Estel Masangkay
I am a freelance creative writer based in the “valley city” of Olongapo near the neighboring Subic Bay Freeport Zone in The Philippines. I enjoy outdoor trips and activities in natural settings and I am passionate about animal welfare and environmental conservation. You can connect with me via my social networks: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/EstelGraceMasangkay">Facebook</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/em23me">Twitter</a> <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/107876341884421334423/">g+</a>

You might also like

The Best Eco-Friendly Home Decor Materials
July 16, 2017
The Eco Lowdown on Toilet Paper
September 23, 2013

Leave a reply


Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • Recent Posts

    • The Environmental Impact Of Biomedical Waste And How To Reduce It
    • What Are the Most Eco-Friendly Types of Water Filters?
    • The Top 7 Eco-Friendly Kitchen Cabinet Picks For 2023
    • How To Sustain A Carbon-Neutral Lifestyle
    • Sustainable Fishing Methods to Fish More Responsibly
  • Categories

    • Animals
    • Climate Change
    • Eco Editorial
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Environmental Policy
    • Green Food
    • Green Technology
    • Green Tips
    • Green Travel
    • Infographics
    • Other Stories
    • Pollution
    • Recycle
    • Sustainability
    • Toxics
    • Uncategorized
  • Archives

    • March 2023
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2011



Home | About | Advertise With Us | Bike The Netherlands | Current Environmental Issues | Eco Editorial | Contact