Catherine Sarah Young

Olfactory Wheel for the Critical Zone

2021, paper

The Olfactory Wheel for the Critical Zone expands the fragrance wheel used in commercial perfumery to incorporate various environmental factors. The Olfactory Wheel for the Critical Zone includes overlapping wheels that represent the following, starting from the inner circles: 1. the Earth Systems or sphere that make up the Critical Zone, 2. natural scents, or the scents before an anthropogenic change in the environment, 3. the environmental forces that lead to a change in the scent, and 4. the resulting scent after these forces take effect.

Below is a video of how to use the Olfactory Wheel for the Critical Zone using a burnt leaf as an example: 

In times of climate crisis, the Olfactory Wheel may be used to evaluate changing scents in many situations, such as these below:

In a forest impacted by bushfire
In an oil spill in the ocean
In the melting poles

I also created a ‘Fire Edition’ of the Olfactory Wheel specific to burning situations. The difference are the two outermost wheels where one can choose the fuel for burning and a more specific set of burnt olfactory outcomes.

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