Scientists are going to make ‘rock’ music and Earth is the artist

Geologists, who are experts in the literal ‘rock’ part of the business, are sometimes referred to as ‘rockstars’ despite being quite different from their guitar-strumming, long-haired counterparts. However, an exciting crossover between these fields may be on the horizon as scientists plan to create ‘rock’ music using seismic waves generated by the Earth itself.

On Tuesday, May 9, Dr Domenico Vicinanza of the UK’s Anglia Ruskin University will use a computer program that he developed to convert real-time seismic data from a seismograph at Yellowstone National Park into a musical score. The musical score will be played live on stage by Dr Alyssa Schwartz, a visiting assistant professor of flute and musicology at Fairmont State University.

The experiment will take place at the 2023 Internet2 Community Exchange conference in Atlanta, Georgia. During the experiment, the amplitude of the volcanic activity vibrations at Yellowstone will be mapped to notes in the musical score. As the amplitude of the seismic activity vibrations increases, so will the musical notes.

Dr Vicinanza, who is a composer, physicist, and researcher in auditory display, has previously created a music piece using 37 years’ worth of data collected by humanity’s farthest-traveling spacecraft, Voyager 1 and 2. He will use a similar approach to convert the seismic data into a musical score, mapping the vibrations and oscillations to notes.

Dr Vicinanza is excited about the potential of this experiment. He says that nearly 50% of earthquakes at Yellowstone occur in swarms that cluster together, making it a unique playground for scientists interested in seismology, geophysics, mechanics, data science, and music.

While seismic activity is often associated with negative events, such as earthquakes, this experiment will demonstrate how it can also produce beautiful and interesting music.