By Ryan Moore

This project explores changes in sea surface temperatures (SST) over more than a century, using data collected from 1905 to 2019. The analysis highlights long-term trends, seasonal variations, and anomalies in ocean temperatures, providing insights into climatic patterns and potential external influences.

Goals

• Analyze long-term trends in average sea surface temperatures.
• Visualize seasonal patterns and inter-annual variability.
• Identify and highlight temperature anomalies.
• Detect patterns in anomalies and their potential links to external climatic factors.

Key Visualizations

1. Long-Term Trends
   A line plot illustrating the yearly average sea surface temperatures from 1905 to 2019, showing how temperatures have evolved over time.
   
2. Seasonality Analysis
   A bar chart showing average temperatures across months, highlighting seasonal patterns.
   
3. Monthly Variability
   A boxplot illustrating the range of temperatures for each month, showcasing variability within the seasons.
   
4. 10-Year Rolling Averages
   A smoothed trendline to highlight long-term changes in sea surface temperatures over a decade.
   
5. Anomalies and Outliers
   A scatter plot showing years with significant temperature anomalies, overlayed with thresholds for detection.
   
6. Yearly Heatmap
   A heatmap visualizing month-by-month temperatures for each year, showcasing seasonal and inter-annual variability.
   

Future Work

• Incorporate external datasets to correlate anomalies with climate cycles (e.g., ENSO).
• Explore the impact of gaps in the data and refine methods to handle missing periods.