Invisible Red

Solar induced fluorescence (SIF) is the faint glow emitted by chlorophyll that has been activated by the sun. This direct indicator of photosynthesis is not visible to the human eye, falling in the far-red and near-infrared range of light wavelengths. However, it can be imaged by scientists using FloX, an instrument that captures detailed spectral data.

Invisible Red (2026) interprets SIF data gathered by Dr. Loren Albert at Oregon State University in a ponderosa forest research site near Sisters, OR. This video animates a sequence of forest images, each depicting one of 2000 wavelengths of chlorophyll fluorescence (ranging from 650-780 nm) captured by FloX. I assigned the invisible SIF wavelengths a color index ranging from black to a deep and barely perceptible red. My version of the data does not emphasize legibility, but instead expresses the mysterious and elusive quality of the SIF glow.

Layering different segments of the image on top of each other and experimenting with transparency and blending modes, I reference the difficulty scientists faced while extracting the faint SIF glow from the cacophony of light noise that exists in a forest and allow the image to become abstract and glitchy. The circular framing of the video is a shape of seeking, sensing and finding.

As the FloX data moves through 2000 wavelengths of light,overall pixel brightness gradually increases, with intermittent dips. I mapped this brightness pattern to a piano roll to generate a gently rising musical phrase that mirrors the shape of the SIF signal. Additional layers of sound are translations of unhearable signals: electromagnetic fluctuations gathered from the research site, and seismic data from the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

This project was supported in part by the Center for the Future of Forests and Society (CFFS) at Oregon State University.

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