In an era of climate crisis, the ocean has become a key site and symbol of our planetary future. How can we document its fragility while continuing to explore the life and hope it holds?

70% of Earth's surface is covered by oceans, and yet they are the least visualized and visualizable planetary medium. Responding to this quandary, these agenda-setting essays explore the ways in which the graphic and digital arts have been integral to shaping the history of oceanography and our ocean planet future, presenting an array of sensory research done in and around the Pacific Ocean.

Visualizing Oceanography presents collaborations among scientists, artists, and writers that demonstrate the value of adopting the methods and perspectives of visual studies for the understanding and analysis of oceans and their social, political, economic and cultural relevance. The case studies presented here all advance the recognition of oceanography as a visual science deeply engaged in sensory media practice and aesthetic research, spanning early plankton cameras to unmanned remote data sensors; sonification works engaging with data from coral reefs to soundscapes of the Marshall Island legacy of nuclear displacement and decimation; AI cephalopods with emotional capabilities; and Indigenous design and production of ocean vessels as knowledge platforms. The case studies presented here all advance the recognition of oceanography as a visual science deeply engaged in sensory media practice and aesthetic research responding to some of our most pressing planetary crises.

Foregrounding socially engaged practice, and heavily illustrated, the book presents new ways of thinking about ocean and planetary sciences more broadly – offering comparative modelling useful for considering the rest of the world's oceans through research that is both interdisciplinary, across the arts and sciences, and intercultural. It is inclusive of feminist, queer, and Indigenous practices, and recognises, finally, oceanography as a visual, graphic field alive with sensory experience and embodied knowledge.

Lisa Cartwright is Professor of Visual Arts, Communication and Science Studies, University of California, San Diego, USA. She is a founding member of the International Association of Visual Culture and the journal Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience.

Nan Renner is Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships for Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceonagraphy, USA. She holds a PhD in cognitive science from the University of California at San Diego.

Joe Riley is an artist, art historian, and environmental researcher who teaches art and science at California State University at San Marcos, USA. A 2025-6 fellow of the Getty Research Institute, he is completing a PhD at the University of California, San Diego, USA.