Introduction

Atmospheric models produce large, high-dimensional outputs that communicate with precision to specialists but remain challenging to interpret to the public. The Dust Protocol is a science-driven opera that challenges this boundary: it translates real outputs from the MONARCH atmospheric dust model into live musical performance, making the invisible dynamics of mineral dust transport perceptible through sound and voice.

This work converges art and science by generating art through a direct, systematic pipeline from model output to sonic structure.

Scientific foundation: the MONARCH model

MONARCH (Multiscale Online Non-hydrostatic AtmospheRe CHemistry model) is an operational atmospheric dust forecasting and research system developed at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC). It simulates the full life cycle of mineral dust aerosols: emission from arid source regions, long-range transport driven by atmospheric dynamics, and deposition across ocean and land surfaces. Dust aerosols play a significant role in Earth's radiative balance, ocean biogeochemistry, air quality, and regional climate.

The data-to-performance pipeline

The Dust Protocol was built around a structured methodology for translating MONARCH simulation outputs into musical parameters. From a comprehensive set of output variables that describe dust, the optical properties are selected as representative of dust mineral composition and interaction with solar radiation. The values of optical depth and single scattering albedo (SSA), are mapped to sonic dimensions such as pitch and velocity. This mapping is not arbitrary: physical relationships within the model inform the compositional logic, so that the sonic experience encodes genuine scientific structure rather than mere aesthetic association.

The soprano voice (Milica Jovičić) functions as a melodic and expressive foreground, while the electronic sonic environment constructed by Cristóbal Ulloa Cotapos is shaped in by model data. The result is a live performance in which the audience perceives, through sound, the behavior of an atmospheric system: dust rising from the Sahara, crossing the Mediterranean, settling over the Atlantic.

Methodology as transferable framework

A central ambition of The Dust Protocol is that the pipeline constitutes a generalizable methodology, not a one-off artwork. The systematic variable-to-parameter mapping, physically motivated compositional logic, integration of scientific output into live performance are transferable to other model types and other scientific domains. The approach offers a template for science-driven sonification that maintains fidelity to the underlying data while producing aesthetically coherent and emotionally resonant work.

Performances and reception

The Dust Protocol has been performed at El Palace Hotel (Barcelona), and an art+science festival (Belgrade) and presented at scientific conferences. Performances have engaged audiences spanning atmospheric scientists, performing arts communities, and the public. Qualitative reception across these contexts suggests that sonic translation of model data produces forms of scientific understanding that are distinct from, and complementary to, conventional visualization: audiences reported perceiving the duration, weight, and directionality of dust transport in ways that graphs and maps do not evoke.

Discussion: what data-driven art can do

The Dust Protocol raises questions this session is well-positioned to address. When scientific data is the compositional material rather than the inspiration, what is gained and what is lost? Does sonic fidelity to the model constrain artistic expression, or does it open compositional possibilities that purely aesthetic choice would not reach? And what does it mean for scientific communication when an audience experiences a model output rather than interprets it?

We argue that science-driven performance offers a mode of public engagement with atmospheric science that complements outreach, education, and visualization reaching audiences for whom data plots are inaccessible, and producing forms of embodied understanding that persist beyond the concert hall.

Conclusion

The Dust Protocol demonstrates that complex atmospheric model outputs can be systematically translated into live performance without sacrificing scientific integrity or artistic coherence. We present the data-to-performance pipeline as a methodological contribution to the growing field of scientific sonification, and invite reflection on the role of art-science convergence in making planetary science legible and felt beyond specialist communities.

How to cite: Ilić, L., Jovičić, M., and Ulloa Cotapos, C.: The Dust Protocol: A Science-Driver Electronic Opera, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 6–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-569, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-569, 2026.

The Mequation is an art–science collaboration between astrophysicist Yamila Miguel and artist Thijs Biersteker that explores different ways of communicating astrophysics and exoplanet science to the public through immersive installations. The project combines scientific concepts related to exoplanets, habitability and biodiversity with interactive digital art to create a personalized experience for visitors.
The installation consists of a 1.5-meter circular mirror made of analog flip-board displays. Using sensors and real-time data streams, the artwork calculates a continuously updated “probability of existence” for each visitor based on a custom equation inspired by the Drake equation and developed specifically for the project. The calculation incorporates astrophysical quantities such as the number of galaxies, stars, stars that can host habitable planets and potentially habitable planets, together with demographic and biological factors linked to human individuality and presence in a specific place and moment.
In this contribution we will discuss the construction of the Mequation and its meaning, the development of the collaboration, including the process of translating scientific ideas into an interactive artistic experience, the challenges of combining scientific rigor with public engagement, and the role of real-time data in the installation. We will also present first experiences from public exhibitions and discuss initial audience reactions and engagement with the work.
The Mequation aims to explore how immersive art can provide alternative pathways for science communication, particularly for topics such as exoplanets and the search for life in the Universe, where the scales and concepts involved are often difficult to communicate through traditional outreach approaches alone.

How to cite: Miguel, Y.: The Mequation: An Art–Science Collaboration Connecting Exoplanet Research and Human Experience, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 6–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-362, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-362, 2026.

An example of artwork featuring a tydally locked Jupiter exoplanet.

How to cite: Wong, E.:  Celestial Ink: An Oriental Aesthetic Interpretation of Modern Astrophysics, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 6–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-1368, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-1368, 2026.

The use of performative art for teaching about the reality of our cosmic immersion and identity is a powerful lever of transformative consciousness through culture. People are fascinated by both the physics and the psychological implications of our own and our planetary cosmic origins. Carl Sagan vastly popularized the understanding of our origins as “Star Stuff” and yet the profound reality of this stellar ancestry continues to fascinate and expand people’s consciousness. That the amino acids which imbue life and living systems on Earth, as well as the water that saturates our planet, originated from comets and asteroids like those sourced from comet Bennu, intrigue the inquisitive mind seeking its own identity. Further, that we are incessantly and perpetually immersed in the radiation from the first impulses of our universe, via the Cosmic Microwave Background, is a potent magnet impelling the individual awareness to inquire deeper into our integrity with the Universe as a whole, and subsequently the integrity of the global and universal eco and biosystems. These realities can be elegantly communicated to both youth and the general public through performative arts; dance in particular can be used as an immediate story telling devise to communicate these realities in an impactful and inspirational way, both engaging the thinking mind and the culturally resonant intuitive capacities. This presentation explores a series of astronomically based motifs that can be, or have been utilized to inspire an experiential understanding of our integrity with cosmos.

How to cite: Perkins, K.: Dance of the Cosmos: Exploring our cosmic origins and integrity through performative arts, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 6–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-131, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-131, 2026.

How do we search for life in the Universe? What do scientists actually look for? And... can you find it?

In 1960, Frank Drake formulated the most famous equation to estimate the likelihood of intelligent life in the cosmos. The goal was to stimulate scientific dialog around the first SETI meeting and has since largely remain limited to scientific circles. How can we harness its creative power to promote Astrobiology ?

We developed Drake’s Dice: a board game that translates the randomness and uncertainty inherent in astrobiological data into gameplay. Players encounter real-life events (e.g., Gaia, Artemis) or astronomy concepts (e.g., Fermi Paradox, planetary migration)  that constrain or expand the probability of life. Over 50 key concepts are explained in an illustrated booklet. Three difficulty levels reflect the evolving complexity of the scientific consensus.

Tested in public outreach settings, this physical game offers an accessible, engaging way for general audiences to explore the science, assumptions, and open questions behind the search for extraterrestrial life.

How to cite: Pott, A. and Larose, D.: Drake’s Dice: Bringing Astrobiology to the board game evening., Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 6–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-9, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-9, 2026.