Simulated Stressors is a screen print based installation that focuses on how environmental stressors are changing our coastal ecosystems. The piece represents three primary stressors currently affecting coastal waters: ocean acidification, hypoxia, and salinity. These three stressors are increasing in frequency and intensity due to anthropogenic impacts; however, the cumulative effect of these stressors remains largely understudied. Ocean acidification is rapidly increasing, especially due to the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Ocean acidification is also frequently co-occurring with hypoxia, due to diel cycles of respiration and photosynthesis that are mechanistically linked and are intensifying due to eutrophication. Finally, low salinity is increasing in intensity due to storm events becoming more frequent, which is increasing freshwater input into shallow coastal waters.

The piece uses landscape imagery of the field site, focusing on elements of environmental beauty within the shallow coastal ecosystem that is particularly vulnerable to these coastal stressors, and is the habitat of many important species, such as the eastern oyster. These environmental stressors are represented by layered screen prints on fabric in bold, vibrant colors that can be isolated, overlapped, and slid by the viewer. Interactivity was essential for this installation. As the stressors are slid and overlapped, the field site ecosystem gets further restricted from view. This represents the interconnectedness and cumulative effect of these anthropogenically exaggerated stressors on coastal ecosystems.

"One of the first iterations of the proposal I wrote was a straightforward way to visualize the complex interplay of ocean acidification, hypoxia, and salinity on eastern oysters. I originally imagined an infographic-heavy visual display that would directly map the literal effects of these stressors onto oysters themselves."

—Cassandra

"Through the Vis-a-thon program, I learned to be more comfortable with iteration without a clear, well-defined endpoint. Instead of working towards a predefined “correct” goal, we allowed the work to evolve. Through this iterative process, I also came away with a stronger appreciation that good ideas rarely emerge as fully formed. We did not know fully what our project would look like at the beginning, and we allowed it to change through conversation, revision, and experimentation, until we ultimately landed on our finished piece."

—Cassandra