Chesapeake BAy Climate Analysis

GMU

This project was an individual analysis students could perform on any public data set. I love the water and have lived in the DMV area most of my life. Using data collected from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, I analyzed marine weather data from 2013-2023 in the Chesapeake Bay region. This project brought on a lot of challenges such as memory issues which resulted in having to narrow the scope. Despite these challenges, the project combined multiple analytical tools and skills such as SQL, R, Python, and AWS to give a comprehensive analysis of the data and proposed research questions. The proposed research questions are displayed below:

1. Is there a relationship between air and sea surface temperature in the Chesapeake Bay region between 2013 and 2023?

2. Is there a relationship between wind direction, wind speed and wave characteristics in the Chesapeake Bay region between 2013 and 2023?

3. Are there seasonal or yearly differences in temperature, wind, wave, and present weather data in the Chesapeake Bay region between 2013 and 2023?

The full research paper can be found in the link below. All code for this project can be found on my GitHub.

Abstract

This analysis was done to explore the changes in marine climate data in the Chesapeake Bay Region from 2013 to 2023. The Chesapeake Bay is vulnerable to the effects of climate change as it threatens the marine life and coastal communities that rely on it. Using data collected from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, marine data such as air temperature, sea surface temperature, wind speed, and wind direction were analyzed in the context of the bay. The analysis used tools such as AWS, SQL, R, and Python to explore summary statistics and create visualizations to understand the changes and possible impacts of the analyzed variables over the past 10 years. The work revealed an increase and positive trend in air and sea surface temperature as well as a decrease in yearly average wind speed. A heat map created in the analysis also revealed the total percent change in air and sea surface temperature in specific geographic locations of the Chesapeake Bay. The details of the analysis showcase the continuing effects of climate change on the region and connect these changes to the dangerous effects it has on the marine life that occupy the bay. This analysis seeks to continue the conversation of climate change and the effects it has on surrounding communities and populations to encourage impactful change.

Full Paper