USGS & Surfrider Foundation · 2023
Rise Up
A VR experience that turns USGS sea level rise models into a visceral look at Capitola Beach's future - which then came true as predicted.
- Client
- USGS & Surfrider Foundation
- Year
- 2023
- Role
- Technical Artist
- Stack
- VR, Unity, Photogrammetry, LiDAR, Fluid Simulation, Data Viz
The project
A virtual reality data visualization built for the United States Geological Survey and the Surfrider Foundation, illustrating the projected effects of sea level rise on Capitola Beach, California. The experience is grounded in USGS CoSMoS coastal storm modelling data, combined with on-site LiDAR scans and photogrammetry to reconstruct the beach with documentary accuracy.
The narrative progresses from subtle initial changes through intensifying storm conditions, culminating in full submersion, translating scientific datasets into something visceral and immediate. When the piece was created the impacts were projections; a storm event in February 2023 confirmed the modelled predictions with near-exact accuracy.
