Illustrating Trends in Nitrogen Oxides Across the United States Using Sonification

Abstract

Leveraging the human auditory system, sonification can be used as an educational tool for non-experts to engage with data in a different mode than visualization. Without oversimplifying the data, this project presents a sonification tool for exploring NO₂ and O₃ data from the BErkeley High Resolution (BEHR) tropospheric NO₂ and OMO3PR ozone profile datasets. By allowing the listener control over the data-to-sound mapping and synthesis parameters, one can experience and learn about the interplay between NO₂ tVCDs and O₃ concentrations. Furthermore, interannual trends can be perceived across different types of locations.