T91 Advances and New Voices in Marine and Coastal Geoscience (Posters)

Monday, 11 October 2021
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Exhibit Hall A

COMMUNICATING COASTAL AND MARINE GEOSCIENCE THROUGH WAVE-BASED ART AND MUSIC: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO CONVEY AND AUGMENT KNOWLEDGE

Paper number: T91-1
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Authors

Abstract

A lack of public engagement with science, coupled with distrust of data and data generation, complicates societal responses to environmental problems. As scientists, we need to embrace the challenge of effectively transmitting ideas, data, and interpretations, so they gain traction and become part of a societal narrative. Finding ways to make our research not only rigorous and relevant but also relatable is increasingly important as climate changes, oceans warm, sea level rises, and pollution becomes omnipresent. The multifaceted challenges of coastal and ocean sustainability cannot be addressed by science alone.

Art and science share a common motivation and goal: to describe and understand the world around us. Both disciplines reflect across nature and society to educate and to effect change. Where science sometimes gets lost in translation, or encounters barriers to public uptake, art can be a forum for different perspectives, allowing new conversations to take place. By uniting us in shared sensory and intellectual experiences, art can break down walls between scientists and the public. This can inform and help society as it negotiates or bargains which pathways to follow into the future.

We present two complementary art-science collaborations as examples. "Drumming the Waves" uses percussion to represent wave amplification and the generation of rogue and sneaker waves at the coast. "Catching A Wave" (https://www.catchingawave.org/) uses glass sculpture and associated sound to shift individual and collective mindsets towards action for sustainable oceans and coasts. Both speak also to the resilience of people who live, work, and interact with the sea and its margins. The projects seek to inspire and expand individual and collective knowledge of ocean and coastal spaces, and to convey the complexity of environmental change in more accessible ways.

But creating art that embodies scientific ideas and data is only part of the process. Equally important, and arguably more difficult, is developing components that help viewers and listeners move through and with the art, into direct engagement with the underlying data. This includes finding ways to bring artistic work into our classrooms, labs, and engagements with the public. We invite colleagues and attendees to share and brainstorm ideas for how to incorporate these kinds of approaches into teaching, research, and outreach.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 53, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2021AM-364568

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