Geo SonNet

Sonification Network for the Geosciences

The logo is a circle with a stylized musical note in the center. The circle is divided roughly into three sections representing the atmosphere, Earth’s geology and oceans respectively. The atmosphere in the upper left has four sections that follow the curve of the circle and are divided by a curved line that suggests a billowy cloud outline. In the lower left is the ocean section that is divided similarly to the clouds but colored in shades of blue from dark at the edge to light near the note in the center. The section divisions are smooth curves. The Earth geology section on the right is similarly divided with jagged lines. Each section is a lighter shade of brown from the outer edge to the center.

Connecting Sonification Experts with Geoscientists to Transform Data Discovery

2025 American Geophysical Union Town Hall – NEWS

Earcon Credit – Mary Edwards Music

Geo SonNet, officially the Sonification Network for the Geosciences, is a project of GLAS Education, an educational nonprofit in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Geo SonNet is being managed in collaboration with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts, with funding from the National Science Foundation.

Official logo of the National Science Foundation. Intials, N, S, F in front of a globe framed by a decorative golden design reminiscent of a bridge supports
GLAS Education Logo. The words, Geneva Lake Astrophysics and STEM are set on a dark green background denoting a hill upon which sits the silhouette of a refracting telescope against a sky with the crescent moon, stars and faint gear shapes.
Official Logo of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

The Geo SonNet project aims to accelerate the creation of multi-disciplinary collaborations in data sonification for geosciences. The goal is to equip new groups with the background and experiences needed to submit successful proposals to the National Science Foundation.

Geo SonNet builds on four years of lessons learned through the Sonification World Chat (SWC), a professional learning community founded by GLAS Education. The SWC will host many of the Geo SonNet activities in 2025 and 2026.

Geosciences, also called the Earth Sciences, study and explain the processes that shape the Earth’s surface, our use of natural resources and the interconnection of Earth’s ecosystems. Geosciences connect a number of science fields, such as chemistry, physics, biology, and math.

Geo SonNet Objectives

  • Increase SWC participation by geoscientists.
  • Promote interdisciplinary and diverse collaboration in emerging and existing geoscience sonification projects.
  • Document the status of data geoscience sonification projects, and the needs of those projects, in order to support development of new funding proposals in the geosciences.