Weaving art and science to make ocean acidification visible
‘Carbon in the Current: Contrasting Futures for Our Changing Ocean’ transforms complex science into an immersive experience of ocean climate change.
Today, World Ocean Day is being celebrated across the globe under the theme of ‘Wonder’ — a theme that unites scientists, policy makers, and communities through our collective amazement of the planet’s largest ecosystem and lifeline.
The International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification (OA Alliance), in collaboration with PangeaSeed and ETH Zurich, presents: “Carbon in the Current: contrasting futures for our changing ocean,” a 3D digital artistic animation conveying the impact of climate change on our ocean by making the invisible threat of ocean acidification tangible for audiences worldwide.
The challenge: Making the invisible visible
For many years, the ocean has been quietly protecting us. It does this by absorbing excess heat and carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by humans. The acceleration of carbon pollution in the last hundred years has far-reaching impacts.
Our oceans are acidifying rapidly, and projections indicate the surface ocean could be 150% more acidified by the end of this century.
These changes have consequences for the health and survival of our ocean’s vibrant ecosystems and diverse species, as well as the many billions of people who depend on the ocean in large and small ways. However, the impacts of ocean acidification remain largely invisible to the human eye and are often clouded by complex scientific data and technical jargon that fail to convey the urgency of the issue.
Addressing the challenge head-on, “Carbon in the Current” — created by artist and motion designer Jacob Stillman — asks a powerful question: What would the ocean look like if the color of seawater could change as it becomes more acidified? Would that make it easier for us to notice shellfish that are struggling to grow, populations of fish that are shrinking, and corals that are becoming dangerously fragile? Would we be more inspired to take action?
““The big question in taking on an artistic project like this is: will it move the needle? Will a new way of seeing lead to a new way of acting?”
“There is a lot at stake for the future of our changing ocean, and we all have a responsibility and the power to act for the future we want. It was a real pleasure to work with Pangeaseed, Jacob Stillman and the scientists at ETZ Zurich on this piece and we look forward to sharing its message here at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France as well many future fora where world leaders gather to consider the consequences of inaction to reduce global carbon emissions.”
From scientific data to storytelling
Carbon in the Current draws upon the innovative Ocean Acidification Stripes project developed by ETH Zurich's Nicholas Gruber and Luke Gregor, who used machine learning to combine ship measurements and satellite data from observations collected over four decades (1982-2022).
The resulting data product, OceanSODA-ETHZ, which was generated within the European Space Agency (ESA) funded OceanSODA study, provides a visual representation of ocean acidification, with each bar representing either the pH or aragonite saturation in that region, reflecting the rapid rate of change over the past 40 years.
The #OceanAcidificationStripes project is a visual representation of the changes in ocean acidification as reconstructed from observations over the past 40 years. Graphic: Nicolas Gruber and Luke Gregor (ETH Zürich) / #OceanAcidificationStripes / CC-BY4.0
Debuting at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference, Carbon in the Current will be on display at Neo Art Gallery from June 7-13 and at the EU Digital Ocean Pavilion in the UNOC Green Zone / La Baleine from June 9-13. You can also view the animation online and find out more about the project here.