Built for the Atmos 44 Weather Station, the synesthesia synthesizer takes HJ Andrews Experimental Forest weather data during Holiday Farm Fire in 2020 and translates it into "sonifications".
Ecological processes often act in cycles and have rhythms. Temperature and wind have daily patterns and seasonal shifts. Precipitation swells and contracts, and the streams respond. These patterns oscillate while also moving on a more significant climate scale trajectory.
Although heavily connected, these ecological processes have their own intervals of time. Their overlap and interactions create the weather and climate that we experience. These combinations can set the scene for specific weather events, such as high-intensity wildfires.
Multiple “switches” were turned on to create the environment for a high-intensity burn like the Holiday Farm Fire in 2020. The “switch” of high perception during the winter months led to vegetation growth. The “switch” of high temperature and low precipitation dehydrated these plants, creating fuels. The “switch” of a rare wind event, where winds blew from the west down the valley, carried dry air and moved the fire quickly.
