Soundtransit: search. Making Maps with Sound. Quite a few years ago I wrote an overview article on the use of sound for representing geographic data, including a series of sound variables for mapping I developed. The article was titled “Sound and Geographic Visualization” and was published as a chapter in the now out-of-print book Visualization in Modern Cartography (MacEachren & Taylor eds., 1994). Sound is used to convey information all the time, but less so in the realm of mapping where the visual dominates.
The article explores the possibilities of making maps with sound, or using sound in tandem with a visual display to add additional layers of information. Some work on tactile mapping had had occurred at the time the article was published, as well as a few dozen articles on sound for representing data in general (not geographic data). Subsequently, research on multi-sensory mapping has expanded but not as much as I expected. We still can’t hear data with Google Earth. The article is below as originally published. Introduction. Online sound maps overview. Sound maps - British Library. Nysoundmap. Open Sound New Orleans.