Music can convey the urgency and gravity of climate change issues through melodies, harmonies, and lyrics. Music has a galvanizing effect, capable of mobilizing individuals and communities to take action. From the delicate balance of ecosystems to the impacts of human activities like deforestation and carbon emissions, music creates vivid soundscapes that illustrate the complex web of factors contributing to climate change.
A Symphony of Climate Change: Scientists Turn 30 Years of Climate Data into Music
Sometimes, data used for scientific research crosses boundaries, and in this case, 30 years of climate measurements gathered from the Arctic and Antarctic have been transformed into a musical composition titled “String Quartet 1: Polar Energy Budget.” This demonstrates that composers can use music to tell stories and represent the interconnectedness of environmental systems. Whether it’s rock music, a symphony, or a catchy salsa, music can build bridges between disciplines, facilitating dialogue among scientists, artists, and the general public.
Collaboration between musicians and climatology experts can lead to innovative projects that communicate scientific findings in an accessible and engaging way, fostering greater public awareness and understanding of the causes of climate change, just as Japanese composer Hiroto Nagai has achieved.
A Process of Over Three Decades of Information
The process of transforming any information into sound, known as sonification, isn’t new. There have been musical pieces created from climate data before, but this is the first time such precise data has been used to create a symphony.
Nagai used climate data collected between 1982 and 2022 from four locations: an ice core drilling site in Greenland, a satellite station in the Svalbard archipelago in Norway, and two Japanese scientific stations in Antarctica, Showa and Dome Fuji. From each location, the researcher extracted data on short-wave and long-wave radiation, precipitation, surface temperature, and cloud cover, all gathered monthly.
With this composition, the composer aims to draw attention to how the climate is affected by the flow of energy in and out of the poles. In the icy summits, the glaciers shrink, not only losing their ancient stories but also raising the oceans with a somber song, like coral reefs succumbing to a deathly fate.
This story was written in Spanish by Perla Vallejo in Ecoosfera.