Spatial Audio and Parameter Mapping Experiments for the Auditory Display of Coral Bleaching Data

Abstract

In this article, data relating to Hawaii’s 2019 coral bleaching are auditorily displayed using parameter mapping sonification and ambisonics. Although primarily an explorative endeavor, this undertaking is conceptually rooted in ecological sound art and neutrally positioned on an established Cartesian framework known as Aesthetic Perspective Space. Through iterative design, different versions are implemented using sound surrogates of coral reefs’ natural soundscapes derived from either (a) real undersea recordings of reef environments or (b) modeling via means of sound synthesis. These audio surrogates correspond to data clusters aggregated by geographical location and, after being represented as sound sources on an ambisonic sphere, all contribute to a final sonic environment in which each cluster is progressively altered as the corresponding coral location undergoes bleaching. To assess both the perceived aesthetic placement of these experiments and their potential for public engagement in the discourse around climate change, evaluation studies are carried out. Results align with the aesthetic goals of the author, while consecutive versions manage to improve on critical fronts relating to climate awareness, providing further motivation toward more immersive implementations in future editions to come.