Project by Elliot Martin and Axel Sjöström
Abstract Due to the effects of climate change, since the industrial revolution temperatures are slowly increasing globally. As a consequence, the icebergs of the world are melting, prompting the sea levels to rise. Normally, the effects of climate change have been covered through visual stimuli, such as numbers and graphs, but there have also been studies researching the representation of climate data with sounds. The goal of this project was to create a sonification of Global Mean Sea Level data (GMSL), in order to present a new approach to experiencing the rising sea levels of the world, representing some years between 1880-2040. The outcome of the project work consisted of a data sonification model, that imitates waves breaking onto a beach, and varies in intensity and frequency. The model was evaluated by preference estimation with 9 participants, where the participants got to rate the pleasantness of the sound. The results showcased that there were significant results for the years 1880, 1960, and 2040, but not for the years 1920 and 2000. Although there were some significant results, more research into this area is needed in order to present more insightful results.