Visualizing Climate Change Data

We wanted the art to be eye catching, and lure people in to learn about these serious topics. We are trying to show the loss of sea ice in the Arctic and the rise in temperature and CO₂. We wanted to show the effects of the albedo positive feedback cycle -- ice melts because of heat. The loss of ice lowers the albedo, meaning heat will get absorbed, not reflected. The additional heat causes more ice to melt. We lined up the graphs so that the times lined up. We used oil pastels to add color, and used paper towels to smudge it, giving it the fade and ombre effect. The light blue graph shows the decrease in polar bear graphs. The dark blue graph shows the increase of CO₂ from 1980 till now.

Maya, Ionait and Travis

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Our artwork shows a graph of the Sea Ice Extent, a map of how much Arctic ice has melted, and a drawing of the effects of all of this on animals. The graph takes the form of waves, showing that ice has melted and thinned over time. At the same time, it shows that animals struggle to find places to breed, feed, and rest as they live in this frozen climate. Above it, is a map of the size of the Arctic and its fluctuation. We hope that you will gain a sense of how much this affects not only other animals, but humans as well. If the sea levels rise, our cities will flood. Our homes will flood. The ocean will only get hotter and hotter, multiplying due to the positive feedback loop of climate change.

Daphne and Cedar

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This artwork is supposed to represent a ski mountain and how the world has been getting warmer. On the lower mountains, you can see happy skiers and a lot of snow. This is supposed to show how from 1980-1992 there were a lot of days below freezing, meaning that there were a lot less frost free days. But as the mountain gets higher and time goes on, you can see more unhappy skiers and less snow. This is because it is showing that there are more frost free days which results in less snow and more unhappy skiers. There was the highest increase in frost free days between 2005-2015. In the background, you can see some gray and brown which is suppose to represent CO₂ in the Earth’s atmosphere. As you can see, it raises with the mountains showing that as there have been more days above freezing, there has also been more CO₂ in the atmosphere. This is important to acknowledge, because it helps prove that as CO₂ levels rise the Earth is heating.

Max and Cha Cha

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We created this art to get across the point of the danger being made by climate change on both glacier melting and sea level rising. We wanted to overlap the graphs so viewers could compare and contrast them. We chose to use colorful and 3D tissue paper to highlight them against the black and white background in the artpiece while still making them look like glaciers and ocean. Above that we put the same house three times at different years on the graph. At first it was completely safe above the water but at the end it was completely under the sea. This helps viewers put the danger of climate change into perspective with something that could happen to them. We think that our art piece conveys our worries and points about what is happening to the environment well.

Cally and May

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The way we thought of how we would make this was we knew that as glaciers melted, the sea level would rise. Because of this, we graphed both the amount of glaciers, as well as the sea level rising, and wrote “GLACIER” inside of the glacier section of the graph. We then colored the first letters of the glacier in blue, to signify that it was full and none had melted. Then over time, less and less of the “GLACIER” was filled in blue, and you could see it melting out into the ocean. We thought that it would make sense that as the glacier's letters lost its water, the sea level below it would rise. We also added a little house at the bottom where the sea was. As time went on, more and more of the house was under water, symbolizing that when the sea level rises, land will be submerged. At the top, we showed how the temperature rises over time, and so we cup it up into 4 sections. The more time passed, the “hotter” the color of the background got. The number inside of the sun for each section signifies the increase in temperature. By the end of our graph, the temperature had risen by 1.2 degrees celsius.

Teo and Zach

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We created our art to try to show what is happening to the glaciers in our world and how it affects us. We included data from a graph of the glacier mass balance. It shows that glaciers are melting at an increasing rate - causing sea levels to rise. We included a graph showing the increase in sea level, and how it causes floods. Then we included an increasing line with the words CO₂ on it to show the increase in the CO₂ levels in the planet. Lastly, we added a string of suns to show how the global temperature is increasing.

Kiki and Lexi

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This piece of art that we have created represents the snow cover from 1970 to 2020. As you can see, we have displayed how the increase of temperature is causing the snow cover to lessen over many years. In the piece of art we added two graphs, one showing the spring snow cover and the other displaying the annual date of peak snow cover. If you can notice there are two trees that we drew, they represent that over time as the snow decreased the tree started to die. This happened because trees rely on snow to create a blanket of warmth to keep that cold air from affecting the roots. Since the snow is decreasing that blanket is shrinking causing the cold air to freeze the roots therefore killing the tree.

Ryan and Jad

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The theme of our artwork is the average snow cover in spring (US). The mountain in our design represents the graph of snow cover, higher being more snow cover and lower being less snow cover. The red line represents the global average temperature. As you can see, as the red line (temperature) goes up, the mountain (snow cover) goes down, which is not a coincidence.

We thought a mountain covered in snow would represent spring snow cover very well because you can see how 50 years ago, we had much more snow cover in spring and now the snow cover has drastically reduced. On the left side of the mountain you can see skiers enjoying their days, while on the right side of the mountain there is no snow so the skiers cannot ski properly.

The reservoirs and trees represent the lack of water when the snow melts rapidly. When the snow melts very fast in the beginning of spring, the water comes down in a rush and does not accumulate in reservoirs as the water cannot penetrate the ground since it is frozen and it flows in such a rush that it goes to the ocean. On the other hand, 50 years ago, when the snow melted much more slowly in the spring, the water flowed at a steady rate allowing the reservoir to fill and soak into the ground. When reservoirs are empty and water levels are low, the trees do not have enough water, this is shown in our artwork because the trees 50 years ago were green, and now they are browner.

Nico and Eric

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Our artwork shows many things. The buildings in the artwork show the graph of snow cover. As you can see the buildings get shorter over time thus meaning there is less snow cover. You can also see many different color suns which represent how much CO₂ is in the atmosphere in different time periods. The yellow arrows show the albedo and how it gets less reflective overtime because of climate change. You can also see how snow affects trees. If there is more snow the tree roots will actually be warmer. This is because the snow is used as a blanket for the tree roots which keeps the root from the cold weather. So if there is less snow then the trees will die quicker.

Zubin and Joachim

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In our artwork Declining Great Lakes Ice Cover we aimed to show the graph created by the NCADC in a more visual form. The graph is represented here as a declining lake ice sheet (lake ice typically has beautiful dark blue, light blue stripes on the inside of it). On top of this ice cover we have drawn a multitude of cartoon figures, each enjoying the ice in their own way. However, their recreational activities are disrupted by the melting of the ice. This symbolizes the catastrophic effects that the melting ice is having on the great lakes regions that rely on it for their economies and recreation. Beneath the ice we have drawn a white fish, one of the many organisms that rely on the ice and lakes for a safe and healthy habitat. As the ice melts the clean water that the fish lives in has become overgrown with algae, killing the fish. In the background we have drawn smokestacks and a cloud of CO₂ . This cloud increases as the ice melts, but we have also overlapped a graph of the increase in CO₂ levels in this cloud to show the correlation between the decline in ice and rise in CO₂ .

Jackson and Matthew

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There’s meaning to every aspect of this art piece we made. To start, we chose to make the graph in the lake with aluminum foil because of how reflective it is. This helps to show albedo and the positive feedback cycle. When there is less ice the average albedo goes down which means more heat is being trapped.

The color of the lake starts out blue and turns to black because we wanted to show how the water is becoming poisonous. Since the ice is melting, the oxygen in the lake is declining which creates “dead zones” where toxic algal blooms are growing. This is a problem because 40 million people depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, but now the water is poisonous.

We showed the average global temperature over the years which is written in the sun to show that the melting ice is due to temperatures rising which is due to CO₂.

The ice coverage is written in terms of the number of football fields it takes up because it puts the decline of ice coverage into perspective.

We have a large number of people standing by the lake to show how many people depend on the lake for their livelihoods, to be more precise 1.5 million people do. So the ice melting is jeopardizing all of these people’s livelihoods.

Adithi and Eva

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The graph was meant to show ice coverage in the Great Lakes. We chose to make the data in the shape of an iceberg. We did this so people could see it was about ice. We also put the word ice converge in it to make it more clear. It shows the amount of ice, the year, cause and effect. The factories in the background show the CO₂ causing the melt, and the car adding CO₂ as well. The sign near the water is a warning sign for algae which is an effect of this. Another effect is dead fish and destruction of ecosystems which we show with dead fish.

Will and Elian

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Our art piece shows millions of acres burned over 24 years. The thermometers at the top of the painting show an increase in temperature as the millions of acres burned also increased. The temperature and millions of acres burned correlate with each other. The temperature and millions of acres burned from wildfires create a positive feedback mechanism. The millions of acres of burnt land releases carbon dioxide, which heats the Earth. A warmer Earth causes land to become dryer, and easier to be set ablaze.

Andrew and Lucas

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What our group was trying to convey here was the effects and the causes of mass wildfires. Our group used darkened clouds and houses and buildings on fire to show the extreme effects of wildfire damage. We also showed an increasing amount of burnt and increased temperature as the wildfire damage increased. To show the causes of this wildfire damage, our group showed what is called the greenhouse effect. This is when light radiating from the Earth is trapped by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This makes the Earth hotter and thus it will equate to more wildfires.

Edward and Kameron

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What we were trying to convey was the increasing damage and effects of wildfires. We did this by showing that as time went on, the fire intensified and the smoke darkened. The fire grows, and as you can see from the axis on the left, it shows how damage and area burned is increasing. The smoke also grows, and shows how the global carbon dioxide concentration (in ppm) is increasing. Additionally, as you can see, the trees are slowly dying and disappearing because of wildfires. You can also see that the global temperature is increasing, and this is partly the cause of wildfires. We worked very hard on our artwork and we hope you like it.

Addy and Bianca

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This is our artwork about climate change, rising temperatures forcing birds to migrate north. Birds are having to move North due to climate change. We showed a graph moving from the South to the North showing that birds are migrating from the South to North, and the amount of birds increases overtime. The red, orange, and yellow tissue paper represent fire. The fire is symbolizing climate change, fires and lack of food, causing these birds to migrate. As you can see, towards the far North, all the birds are compacted into one area showing the increasing amount of birds that this is affecting, and their lack of a suitable habitat.

Ben, Ilana and Acacia

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Our art piece shows the difference in bird migration between the years of 1965 and 2013. It also shows the difference in climate as the birds migrate north. Each year you can see the increase of how far north they go that year. This actually connects a lot to climate change. Each year the birds are going further north meaning that winter is getting warmer in some places making the birds migrate further to get to a warmer place.

Trinity, Jynx and Erin

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Our poster is trying to show the impact climate change has on the migration of birds. More specifically temperature change and food source. The bottom image is a visual demonstration of the birds affected by the warm weather. The yellow middle line is the average of the distance that birds migrated for that specific year. The line above that is the most distance traveled and the bottom is the least amount of migration. The color and trees at the top show how the birds must go to unseen places since the temperature has such a large change…this raises issues with food since animals that birds usually eat aren’t there. The maps on the top show the birds in different places during their migration. In conclusion we are trying to show that birds don’t only move because their habitat gets destroyed or there isn’t enough food where their climate also affects and has an impact on the birds. Just like humans, birds get annoyed and frustrated by the climate where they live. If the temperature changes then the birds move.

Georgios and Wally

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Our artwork is showing how cases of Lyme Disease are increasing because of climate change. The idea of our painting was to show less and less people walking on a hiking trail over time as the path gets thinner. This represents how many people get sick from simple things like going hiking because of rising temperatures allowing ticks to live for longer, giving them more time to spread lyme disease. We incorporated two graphs into the painting, the bottom one shows carbon dioxide levels and it is shown as a part of the path and the top one is cases of Lyme Disease and it is shown as tall grasses. We showed more ticks over time through small red dots in the tall grasses. The suns at the top of the painting get darker as it goes to the right to show more heat due to climate change. Overall, the painting shows how as time goes on, more people get hurt because of ticks being able to live longer due to rising temperatures.

Mia and Natasha

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Our artwork shows the rising cases of Lyme Disease as time goes on. We want to show this because it has a deep connection to climate change continually rising. If we don’t do something about climate change now these cases will continue to go up. We have a line graph that shows the cases of Lyme Disease from 1991 to 2014. We used bright colors and symbols that relate to the climate changing. We have shown this by making a collage of more frozen ground and regular dirt. Ticks can stay alive throughout the winter if it stays above a certain temperature. So, more ticks stay alive as the temperature continues to rise. So the amount of cases goes up.

Elsa and Lalia

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In our piece of art that we created we are showing the increase in Lyme Disease. We are showing this, by incorporating the graph that shows an increase in cases by putting ticks on the graph which are represented by the dirt and this was to visually see the increase in Lyme Disease which is also related to a rise in ticks all over the world and climate change. This is because as temperature rises it creates a more stable environment for ticks to live in all year round. Now the temperature of our planet is increasing and the amount of ticks are rising along with it. It’s important we stop this because Lyme Disease and ticks can cause long term damage to both human and wildlife alike.

Saige and Aaliyah

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The reason I decided to make the water covering the building is because I feel like using buildings to show the drastic change and how fast the sea level is rising during these years. It really makes me understand it a lot more because sure, you hear sea levels are rising, but it's really just showing the realistic things that happened/happening in the world.

I'm showing the impact of sea level rising because I think people should know. For example, a part of California might be underwater or even little islands that people live on could just sink and those people would be homeless. Just imagine if that happened to you, not fun. This is why I made this poster to spread and get more awareness on the effects of sea level rising.

Alyssa