Watching the water with the help of citizen scientists

Watching the second of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films at the cinema, I have rarely felt more grateful for the oversized cold beverage I purchased at the kiosk. An adaptation of the second part of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel Dune, the film follows protagonist Paul Atreides as he unites with the Fremen people of the fictional desert planet Arrakis. The 2 hour 46 minute epic left me inspired me to try out ‘sand dancing’ on my next visit to the beach but more seriously, it provided a stark reminder that a lack of access to water is not part of a dystopian near-future depicted in science fiction, but rather a present day reality for so many people around the world.