Ocean Interactions: Exploring Marine Microbial Ecologies

Ocean Interactions is an interactive, multi-screen digital simulation that gamifies the biogeochemical cycling of marine microbial ecosystems in Narragansett Bay. Developed through collaboration between scientists and designers, it uses an agent-based model built in P5.js, integrating seasonal microbial data to create a responsive ecosystem. Participants manipulate key microbial players—cyanobacteria, heterotrophic bacteria, and phages—observing real-time changes in population dynamics and carbon flux making the invisible visible. Participants explore the fragile interdependencies of marine life as they engage with the simulation and discover their role in shaping global marine ecologies.