Erik Buckingham                                                     appromiamately 220 words

11/28/16

INTD 105: Science Writing

Many people think that Antarctica is a barren area with no value for humans to study, but Glenn McClure, a professor at SUNY Geneseo, is exploring the continent for its value in the arts, specifically the music scene. He is using natural sounds from antarctica to “split the difference” between regular compositions with no numbers and the music that you get by translating numbers to sound.

The sounds that he is collecting are absorbed seismometers, which were placed in the ground a year ago and will allow McClure to view his data in mid December. Aside from the seismometers, Glenn has been recording natural sounds on his own, such as the crunch of different snows at different temperatures. He noted that it is hard to have a conversation if anyone moves their feet because of the loud crunching of the snow. McClure states that it creates a, “noisy, crazy environment” with the sound of snow crunches.

In addition to the sound of snow crunches, Glenn recorded an audio of talking penguins and a mother seal arguing with her offspring. “They were giving her quite a hard time” notes McClure.

Glenn McClure’s research fascinates me because it mixes the arts and sciences. He is using logical, concrete evidence to appeal to human emotions. He even states that the music will conduct with scientists’ emotions.