“Embrace the Scroll: Our Top Multimedia Picks to Enrich Your 2024 Experience!”

Among all the multimedia innovations that captured the public’s interest in 2024, the surge of artificial intelligence stood out as the most remarkable. Screens and social media feeds are now populated with AI-generated images and videos that can be captivating, amusing, and frightening—often simultaneously. While certain forms of AI-created content lend themselves well to memes, others have been utilized to disrupt democratic elections.

However, although the Bulletin is keeping a vigilant watch on advances in AI, it is improbable that you will encounter AI-generated images on this platform. We, the Bulletin multimedia editors, take pride in our humanity, crafting content from our own eclectic imaginations. Below are some of our favorite narratives from our work in 2024, created by us for your viewing pleasure.

The Submerged Amazon
By Paul Tullis, featuring photos by Adriane Ohanesian
From South Africa to Portugal and California, Paul Tullis’ literal exploration of global kelp forests provided us with an intimate glance at ancient and intricate ecosystems striving to thrive in a world altered by humans. “Though the Amazon is dubbed as ‘the lungs of the Earth’ due to its vast oxygen output,” Tullis observed, “it is, in fact, marine algae, including kelp, that predominantly generate oxygen in the atmosphere.” Complemented by Tullis’ vivid narratives, the artistic photographs of Adriane Ohanesian animated this submerged realm and emphasized the endeavors of scientists and entrepreneurs working to rescue the kelp forests, and consequently, the planet.

We opted to create a video to accompany this article as well, because, similar to the variety of marine life within the kelp forests, it was thoroughly packed with visuals—such as a segment of an octopus appropriating Paul’s camera.

When Rome’s fountains dry up
By Gabriele Di Donfrancesco, with photos by Frederico Ambrosini
Few elements are more classically Roman than the aqueducts of Rome. For centuries, these engineering wonders, and their contemporary counterparts, have supplied countless fountains in Rome with water sourced from distant mountain springs. However, as reported by Gabriele Di Donfrancesco, climate change, carelessness, and neglect are threatening these natural reservoirs; with rising temperatures and diminishing rainfall, water limitations for Italy’s capital could be imminent. Visuals, maps, and diagrams transport us to Europe to gain a deeper understanding of how 21st-century challenges jeopardize Rome’s historical legacy.

A growing peril in the Arctic
By Valerie Brown
It may appear that few things could be more alarming than “zombie viruses” emerging from the Arctic as global warming thaws frozen remains and awakens dormant pathogens. Yet, by examining Valerie Brown’s exploration of thawing permafrost and visualizing the repercussions of human actions on the Arctic environment, we discovered that microbes are already widely dispersed in the organic matter beneath the frozen exterior. As the landscape of this region transforms, increased mining, cargo ship activity, and wildfires have emerged, providing these (sometimes prehistoric) microbes pathways to infiltrate habitats of vulnerable animals and humans. Amid insufficient data and Russia’s growing seclusion, researchers are racing to address the knowledge gaps that might help avert a worldwide health crisis.

An existential presidential chronology
By Thomas Gaulkin, François Diaz-Maurin, Jessica McKenzie, Matt Field, and Sara Goudarzi
In 2024, our multimedia crew persisted in discovering innovative methods to elucidate complex narratives. As the US presidential election drew near, we deemed it wise to ponder how the existential threats that most concern the Bulletin—nuclear hazards, climate fluctuations, biosecurity, and disruptive technologies—have been managed during the last two administrations. Editors identified significant events from the Trump and Biden presidencies in each of those subject areas, and the multimedia team aggregated them into an interactive timeline facilitating effortless comparison of White House actions over the past eight years—such as their nearly identical choices to remain in, or exit, the Paris climate agreement.

In Sudan, “climate wars” serve as convenient scapegoats for ineffective leaders
By Harry Verhoeven
Sudan has been trapped in brutal conflict for years. Additionally, Sudan has felt the impacts of escalating climate change. Together, these catastrophes have resulted in the loss of millions of lives. However, according to Harry Verhoeven, the concept of “climate wars” has been manipulated by Sudanese warlords to divert attention from their own shortcomings. “Rural Sudan is not embroiled in violence due to a changing climate,” Verhoeven elucidated. “Instead, it finds itself exceedingly susceptible to climatic changes due to violence and mismanagement by Sudanese leaders.” Interactive maps underscored how the climate emergency, which has disrupted herding trends and exacerbated tensions between nomadic herders and settled farmers, is further exploited by warlords to enlist fighters and fuel conflict.

How an obscure atmospheric occurrence results in catastrophic flooding in California
By Chad Small
Chad Small, a participant in the Bulletin’s editorial fellows initiative, investigated how an obscure atmospheric phenomenon known as the Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) caused severe flooding in Los Angeles, California. The multimedia team developed a scrolling video animation that illustrated how the MJO generated an atmospheric river, channeling moisture into a confined area and resulting in an extraordinary downpour.

The brief journey to China’s hydrogen bomb
By Hui Zhang
An extensive narrative of China’s pursuit to create a hydrogen bomb, richly adorned with archival materials and illustrations. Detailed 3D schematics unpacked the intricacies of China’s “boosted layer-cake” design, demonstrating how its inaugural thermonuclear weapon utilized primary and secondary mechanisms to trigger a fusion chain reaction. The nation’s first hydrogen bomb detonation occurred on December 28, 1966, yielding an explosive power of 122 kilotons. Six months later, on June 17, 1967, China conducted a full-yield test, yielding an air-burst nuclear blast with an output of 3.3 megatons—over 200 times that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

How many individuals perished in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Video by Erik English
The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize was presented to an assembly of survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, referred to as hibakusha. The organization, named Nihon Hidankyo, was recognized for “its endeavors to attain a world devoid of nuclear arms and for demonstrating through testimonies that nuclear weapons must never be utilized again.” Earlier this year, we published a video based on Alex Wellerstein’s pioneering analysis featured in the article “Counting the Dead at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” This video showcases film footage of Hiroshima prior to the bombing, generously shared by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and emphasizes the challenges of quantifying the harrowing human consequences of nuclear arsenals.

As always, the Doomsday Clock remains the most recognizable visual representation of the existential threats confronting humanity today. Few other images have encapsulated so much contemplation so succinctly. To illustrate the enduring significance of the Doomsday Clock and its influence, this year we produced a fresh scrolling timeline that chronicles its adjustments, its impact on popular culture, and each of the Bulletin’s published statements concerning the Clock’s hand settings. Let us not forget, they were initially set to seven minutes until midnight in 1947, when artist Martyl Langsdorf designed a cover for the Bulletin to symbolize urgency—“It suited my eye,” she remarked. Today, after 25 changes and 600 covers later, we stand at just 90 seconds to midnight.