A new non-physical release featuring work arising from Michael Begg’s year long position as musician in residence to the European Marine Board.
Bandcamp: https://omnempathy.bandcamp.com/album/sounding-the-ice-factory
Apple: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/sounding-the-ice-factory/1720074075
These recordings broadly assume their structure from observed data and modelling predictions arising from studies of Pine Island Glacier as well as the Ronne-Filchner ice shelf and Weddell Sea in western Antarctica.
Everything is complex in Antarctica. Nothing is straightforward, and despite the great blank white page it seems to present to the observer it is filled with ever shifting shadow and nuance.
Partly on account of its remoteness and the extreme temperature and wind speeds, Antarctica is the most challenging place on Earth to conduct observational research. But we know enough to understand that the survival of this continent is a determining factor in the prognosis for our own survival.
Warm water intrusions may now likely be accelerating Antarctic ice loss with a consequential increase in global sea levels. Should the increasingly fragile ice shelf break away, it will be like a cork being taken from a bottle. The Antarctic ice sheet will quickly slide into open water. The collapse of Pine Island glacier alone is predicted to contribute to a 1.5 metre rise in global sea level.
All of these elements are implied in the behaviour of the overall system; the temperature of water, the concentration of salt… more
credits
released April 17, 2023
With Thanks (Antarctic Works):
Lukrecia Štulić, Alfred Wegener Institute
Yoshihiro Nakayama, School of Environmental Science/Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Japan
Lukrecia Štulić’s data series, FESOM sea-ice production for the southern Weddell Sea, 2002-2017 , has been published, and can be accessed here: doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7761156
The paper ‘Pathways of ocean heat towards Pine Island and Thwaites grounding lines’ by Nakayama et al, Scientific Report, Nov 2019, provided an invaluable source of simulated data and background context.
The paper ‘Mechanisms driving variability in the ocean forcing of Pine Island Glacier’ Webber et al, Nature Communications, Feb 2017, provided an invaluable source of observed data and background context, and I wish to thank them for allowing me to use their data.
With Thanks (Sea of Azov work):
Lera Litvinova, a visual artist and curator based in Kyiv, Ukraine, was also a resident artist with the European Marine Board. She brought to my attention the threat of ecocide in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov as a consequence of Russian aggression.
‘Where Azov Meets Black’ along with other related works was originally broadcast during a one hour special episode of A Duck In A Tree, a weekly programme on Resonance FM curated by :zoviet*france: and syndicated by several international outlets. Thanks to Ben Ponton for allowing the project this space and for producing the broadcast.
With Thanks (Zooplankton Nocturne):
This work was made possible through an award from the PRS Foundation.
Laura Hobbs, based out of the University of Strathclyde and the Scottish Association for Marine Science, provided the data, the insight, and all the enthusiasm I needed.
With Thanks (European Marine Board):
None of the above would have been possible without the support of the European Marine Board and their EMBracing the Ocean artist residency initiative. My deep gratitude is due to the board, and with a special nod of appreciation to Britt Alexander for co-ordinating the reporting and administration that goes with such a project.
Britt also negotiated the recognition of the work as an action within the EU Mission: Restore Our Oceans and Waters. A position that I am proud to occupy.