ABSTRACT Collapse (suddenly falling down) was a dance/theater/media production that brought together a diverse group of artists and scientists to explore the varied ways that social and natural systems collapse and the responses of human societies. This paper focuses on the nature of the collaboration, the unique products it produced and the lessons learned. Three art-science collaboration themes emerged: (1) implementation of a large-scale stereo display for 3D data; (2) exploration from a visual design perspective of digital scans of natural hazard sites normally used for scientific research; and (3) integration of optical tracking for interaction between performers and visualizations. Each theme is explored in detail and each member of the team reflects on lessons learned from the process.

ABSTRACT Rapidly expanding insect populations, deforestation and global climate change threaten to destabilize key planetary carbon pools, especially the Earth's forests, which link the micro-ecology of insect infestation to climate. To the extent mean temperature increases, insect populations accelerate deforestation. This alters climate via the loss of active carbon sequestration by live trees and increased carbon release from decomposing dead trees. A self-sustaining positive feedback loop can then emerge. Extensive field recordings demonstrate that bioacoustic communication plays a role in infestation dynamics and is likely to be a critical link in the feedback loop. These results open the way to novel detection and monitoring strategies and nontoxic control interventions.