Marine Heatwaves – Ocean Research Through Art

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are extreme events in the ocean when temperatures are well above the long-term average. As global temperatures rise, MHWs are becoming more frequent, more intense, and dramatically impacting marine biodiversity, fisheries, and, ultimately, our coastal communities. The Northeast U.S. continental shelf has become a hotspot for such events in the recent decade. 'Marine Heatwaves' is part of SYNERGY II - a collaboration between Art League Rhode Island and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Self-selected pairs of scientists and artists collaborate to create a 'common language' using the arts to illustrate and communicate science. Through extensive conversations, we examined the scientific and artistic process and were surprised and delighted at the many similarities in our work. We spoke in-depth about the challenges of communicating big ideas, big data, and multi-scale, complex bio-physical interactions in meaningful ways and how we all had to be compelling storytellers. As our 3D kinetic sculptures spin, they capture the ocean's constantly moving and swirling motions. The printed imagery evokes the thrill of discovery and details the complexity and phases of our research: data acquisition from historical sources, research vessels, and remote sensing to ocean and climate model simulations, coding to visualization, and ultimately conveying a message. This collaboration has not only added a new enriching dimension to our work scientifically and artistically but has also inspired students and engaged adults.