Two examples of sonification for viewer engagement: Hurricanes and squirrel hibernation cycles

Abstract

This extended abstract describes two sets of sonifications that were commissioned by researchers from the fields of meteorology and animal ecology. The sonifications were created with the software synthesis program SuperCollider [1]. The motivation for creating them was to pursue additional levels of engagement and immersion, supplementing the effects of visual plots. The goal is for audiences, in particular students and laypeople, to readily understand (and hopefully find compelling) the phenomena being described. The approach is parameter-based, creating “sonic scatter plots” [2] in the same manner as work described in earlier publications [3-4].