Sonia H. Stephens
Postdoctoral Researcher
Department of Civil, Environmental & Construction Engineering
University of Central Florida sonia.stephens@ucf.edu

• Communicating SLR through narrativebuilding
• Study: interactive SLR viewer content analysis
– Characteristics of interactive SLR viewers
– Design recommendations
• Future research

• Communicating science results from
Ecological Effects of
Sea Level Rise in the
Northern Gulf of
Mexico project
• Target audiences:
– Resource managers
– Policymakers
– Coastal residents

• Range of SLR projections and local conditions make public understanding of impacts difficult
• As part of global climate change, SLR is a “wicked” problem (Rittel & Webber,
1973)
Golden Gate Beach, NPS

• Participatory narratives and scenarios: communication tools
– E.g., used in natural resource planning to help participants understand complexity and uncertainty (Vervoort et al., 2010)
NOAA-CSC
• In interactive visualizations, narrative is built through the developing interaction between user and visualization (Harrell & Zhu, 2009)

• Interactive narratives create meaningful participatory story experiences (Dinehart, 2013)
• As “narrative builders,” these tools guide users to insight via discovery while lowering cognitive load (Dove
& Jones, 2012)
– Explore datasets
– Construct alternative explanations
– Draw parallels with personal experience

• The balance between author-driven and user-driven elements creates an overall narrative structure (Segel & Heer, 2010)
Author-driven
•
•
•
Linear ordering
Little interactivity
Strong primary message
User-driven
•
•
•
No prescribed ordering
Free interactivity
Weak messaging

• Focus on interactive SLR viewers (ISLRVs):
– Show SLR and coastal areas at risk for SLR
– Allow users to interact with the visualization by scrolling, zooming and other features
– Use a geographic map as a base layer
– Are available for free online
• Study purposes:
– Identify and characterize the narrative elements that contribute to ISLRVs
– Suggest ways to integrate elements for more effective communication

• Content analysis of 20 ISLRVs
– Identified through purposive Google-based sampling
• Identified intended audiences
• Evaluated narrative elements in four aspects of
ISLRV design (Hullman & Diakopoulos, 2011):
– Data (e.g., source & precision)
– Visual representation of SLR (e.g., SLR range)
– Annotations (e.g., text, photos)
– Interactivity (e.g., default views, navigation)

Name
Chesapeake Bay: The Increasing Effects of Sea-Level
Rise and Storm Surge
Coastal Resilience 2.0
Digital Coast (beta)
Flood Maps
Future Coast
Global Flood Map
Global Sea Level Rise Map
Impacts of Sea Level Rise on the California Coast
Creator(s)
Chesapeake Sea-Level Rise and Storm Surge Public Awareness and
Response (non-profit partnership)
The Nature Conservancy (non-profit org.) and partners
NOAA Coastal Service Center (government org.)
A. Tingle (independent creator)
K. Akerlorf (George Mason University) and colleagues
Map Large (commercial org.)
Geology.com (commercial org.)
Pacific Institute (non-profit org.)
Mapping Areas Potentially Impacted by SLR
New Jersey Flood Mapper
Relative Sea Level Trends
Sarasota Bay Sea Level Rise Map Viewer
J. L. Weiss and colleagues (University of Arizona)
Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (Rutgers University)
Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (government org.)
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (non-profit org.)
Sea Level Rise Explorer
Sea Level Rise Tool For Sandy Recovery
R. A. Rohde (independent creator)
NOAA (government org.) and partners
Sea Level Rise-Threatened Areas Map
Sea Levels Online
California Energy Commission (government org.)
NOAA (government org.)
Sea-Level Rise Visualization for Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida
National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA; government org.) and partners
SLAMM View U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (government org.) and partners
Surging Seas
What Could Disappear
Climate Central (non-profit org.)
New York Times (media org.)

Higher-level elements
Lower-level elements
• Interactivity orients users, enables exploration, guides decision-making, constrains overall narrative
• Annotations provide facts, interpret, create emotional links, enhance credibility
• Visual representation communicates flooding and human and ecological responses
• Data choices affect resolution, accuracy, dynamic capabilities
Key overall consideration: intended use and audience

• About 1/3 of ISLRVs explicitly identified audience or purpose
• Major audiences:
– Coastal residents and communities
– Coastal managers
– Decision-makers
– General public
– Scientific researchers

• Topographic model and SLR projections led to large differences
• Creation date and type of creator also were factors
• Nearly all ISLRVs had bandwidth issues
(Global Flood Map, 2009)

• Most ISLRVs used color shading
• A few ISLRVs also represented additional effects:
– Storm surge
– Flooding uncertainty
– Ecosystem response
• SLR magnitudes varied (Sarasota Bay SLR Map Viewer, 2011)

• Highly variable among
ISLRVs
– Purpose statement
– Logos
– Technical & interpretive help
– Social media
– Uncertainty
– Local sites
• Importance: context, tone, credibility
(Future Coast, 2011)

• Plays large role in shaping narrative
– Orientation
– Narrative pathway
– Suggest appropriate ways to explore data
• Primary narrative choices involved selecting SLR scenarios and navigating map
(Surging Seas, 2013)

• Most ISLRVs were more user-driven than author-driven
– Purpose to present data rather than create storyline
(Chesapeake Bay, n.d.)

1. Understand and articulate user needs
2. Explain uncertainty and risk (annotation level)
3. Use an appropriate level of realism (visual representation and annotation levels)
4. Incorporate cause and effect sequencing (data and interactivity levels)
5. Enable customization for user needs (annotation and interactivity levels)
6. Balance local and global elements (all levels)
7. Support users with on-demand explanation
(annotation level)

• What aspects of ISLRV interfaces contribute to effective situated use by targeted users?
• How can designers balance narrative messaging while facilitating structured discovery?
• How are realism, risk and uncertainty represented and received?
• How do users respond to ISLRVs within the broader context of SLR communication?

Dr. Scott Hagen and Dr. Denise DeLorme, UCF
Ecological Effects of Sea Level Rise in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (EESLR-NGOM) Research Team
This research was funded in part under NOAA Award No.
NA10NOS4780146. The statements and conclusions are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA.