Living Data
Visualisations/Animations
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Algae Data
Numeric data are exchanged for sounds to express responses of an alga to temperature variability.
Animation and Music: Paul Fletcher
Data: Jennifer Clark:
Pearl Beach temperature variation
in tides and ocean sub-habitat
The experiential process of observation and reflection is key to art and science and is an essential component in understanding interdependence of all species and ecosystems, terrestrial and aquatic.
This work began by creating music that mapped musical frequencies and sounds to line graphs generated from the spreadsheets of numeric temperature data sets. The music evolved to combine objective measurement and subjective responses to change. The results are of interest already but are only the beginnings of many more translations and explorations still to do.
I use animation and sound to interpret climate change data. Data include numeric records, sketches, photos, videos and Email conversations. Scientific data are provided by Jennifer Clark,a PhD Candidate and member of the Plant Functional Biology & Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology, Sydney. Jennifer provided Excel spread sheets with numbers that record differences in sea temperature at different tidal heights within the intertidal zone and in different parts of an algae plant structure. The meaning of this piece can be found through personal observation and reflection upon it.
My PhD research involves investigating how climate change will effect the resilience of an intertidal macroalgae (or seaweed) to increasing temperatures. This particular seaweed is Hormosira banskii, commonly known as Neptune's necklance. This is a major habitat former which creates ecosystems for many intertidal organisms (much like coral reefs and rainforests) and is found in most temperate intertidal rock platforms. I am interested in how the underlying genetics and gene flow as well as physiology of this seaweed will allow it to persist in warming climates. One part of my project involves looking at temperatures within the seaweed (tissue temperature) as well as air temperatures within its natural habitat to determine whether different morphs (ecotypes) of the seaweed conger advantages to relieve temperature and desiccation stress.
