EGU22-4915, updated on 10 Jan 2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-4915
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Illustrating Climate Science: the Case for Visual Representations of Complex Concepts

Larissa van der Laan
Larissa van der Laan
  • Hannover University, Institute for Hydrology and Water Resources Management, Civil Engineering and Geodetic Sciences, Germany (vdlaan@iww.uni-hannover.de)

A general challenge of science communication, when addressing complex concepts within e.g. earth science, is to choose an audience and tailor the experience to draw in the specific members of that audience. This can lead to the exclusion of audiences that do not feel spoken to, regardless of their innate interest in the subject. Having been faced with that challenge, I have adopted an alternate approach, by creating visually appealing illustrations to draw the attention of various types of audiences. The members can then choose a path of information from there, ranging from non-interaction with the scientific concept, over elementary-level explanation, up to peer-reviewed scientific publications. This approach can be beneficial in achieving wide engagement and allowing connected groups, e.g. parents and children, to learn together, each at their own level of interest and understanding. 

How to cite: van der Laan, L.: Illustrating Climate Science: the Case for Visual Representations of Complex Concepts, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-4915, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-4915, 2022.