Abstract

The ElectroMagnetic Music (EMusic) project started 3 years ago: Antonio Menghini (a geophysicist expert of the transient electromagnetic (TEM) method) and Stefano Pontani (a musician) have codified a procedure that transforms TEM data into musical notes (Menghini and Pontani, 2016; Duncombe, 2019). Through this procedure, it is possible to compose musical tracks that faithfully describe the geological and environmental setting of various sites. Three recent EMusic events are presented to demonstrate that EMusic can be an extraordinary didactic-popular tool, able to explain in a pleasant way the contribution of geophysics for studying the Earth.

The scientific-musical experiences have been carried out on three continents:

In Italy, sonified data collected over Vesuvius volcano gave birth to an effective jam session with the volcano. In this case the audience was able to follow all the sonification process, from the data acquisition (by INGV) with a ground-based TEM instrument, until the artistic performance, when the musicians discovered directly on site the pitches they could use for their improvisation.

In Colorado, a characteristic TEM sounding acquired as part of a USGS project to study geological controls on groundwater flow in mountain watersheds near the town of Crested Butte, was the source for a local installation of 6 hours. During this installation the audience was able to follow the EM signal travel down to hundreds of meters depth, learning the geological evolution of the site (from Ice Ages to the Cretaceous). This project was made possible through the award of an AGU Centennial Grant.
In Australia, four representative geological sites covered by the AusAEM project led by Geoscience Australia were the central theme of two shows, one performed at the AEGC2019 conference in Perth and a full concert performance in Canberra at Geoscience Australia.

For each of the events mentioned above, we present an excerpt by means of videos, audio and images, with a particular focus on the effective feedback received from the audience.

References

Menghini A. and Pontani S. (2016) – What is the sound of the Earth? First steps into EMusic. First Break, vol. 34, 41-46.

Duncombe J. (2019) – Rock on with a group that makes music from geophysical data. Eos, 100. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EO126807