Heartbeat of the Earth

Heartbeat of the Earth is a series of online artworks created in collaboration between 10 artists, the Google Arts & Culture Lab, and the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), responding to and interpreting scientific climate data.

The artists have created 10 artworks responding to one or more of the key findings from the UN’s IPCC reports and data from global scientific institutions, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the World Meteorological Organisation. 

What if our last memories of nature were only accessible from the mind of a machine?

What would happen if the planet got 2 degrees warmer? Collective Hyphen-Labs explore the cascade effects of climate warming on humans, symbolised in the melting of a glacier.

Medusae reveals the changes in climate that are making the sea increasingly hostile to other life forms, however particularly hospitable to jellyfish.
Watch the video to find out how...

Zoom into an interactive sky and discover the hidden swirls of microplastics in our air, rain and snow.
Watch the video to see how...

An interactive machine learning experiment that visualises what we might lose and what will remain as temperatures rise.
Watch the video to see this in action...

Watch a fictional coastal city disappear under water with this durational video collage.

And now explore our first phase of climate experiments...

Digital visual artist Christina Tarquini invites you to dive into the ocean and explore the impact of rising temperatures on marine life, and ultimately to us, through an interactive data visualisation. Watch the video to learn more...

Multidisciplinary visual artist Pekka Niittyvirta and installation artist Timo Aho are visualizing the actual and predicted sea level rise through Google Maps and Street View. Watch the video to see how they do it...

Experimental photographer Fabien Oefner has visualized the shocking retreat of two glaciers in Switzerland over the last 140 years through an interactive artwork. Watch the video to see the artwork in action...

How much do you think your diet affects the environment? Data artist Laurie Frick is exploring the CO2 footprint of different foods and diets in the US, France, and the UK. Watch the video to see how it works...