Presenter: Alice DuVivier (NCAR)

Description:
We will present on the process of creating Arctic Shifts, an animation with music about the changing Arctic. The Arctic is undergoing a pronounced and rapid transformation in response to changing greenhouse gases, including reduction in both sea ice spatial extent and sea ice thickness. As the sea ice changes, the Arctic food webs are likely to shift in ways that vary regionally, seasonally, and over time. But the exact nature of these ecosystem-level shifts is uncertain. Our transdisciplinary Art-Science collaboration between a polar scientist and digital media professor enables a new kind of reflection about the Arctic’s uncertain future. In creating Arctic Shifts, we draw extensively from scientific research on the changing Arctic and make use of state-of-the-art simulations of the Arctic’s future climate derived from Community Earth System Model (CESM) outputs. At the same time, Arctic Shifts invokes speculative futures about Arctic food webs, which are rooted in scientific research, but that currently fall outside of the scope of simulations. In this way, Arctic Shifts is facilitating transdisciplinary connections both inside and outside of scientific disciplines through the lens of fine art. As an outcome of our transdisciplinary work, we anticipate showcasing Arctic Shifts in scientific, artistic, and Art-Science venues. Ultimately, Arctic Shifts will be a form of artistic expression that illuminates the interconnected nature of microscopic processes, like phytoplankton life cycles, and macroscopic processes, such as sea ice shifts over decades, and will bring art and science together to tackle a pressing subject of our time.