Mount Pinatubo Climate Impact Analysis

Overview

This project analyzes the global climate impact of Mount Pinatubo's 1991 volcanic eruption through data visualization. Using NASA temperature data, I explored how one of the 20th century's largest volcanic eruptions affected global temperatures and demonstrated the significant cooling effect that volcanic aerosols can have on Earth's climate system.

Features

• Time series visualization of global temperature anomalies from 1985-1995
• Comparison between raw monthly data and 12-month running mean
• Analysis of temperature patterns before, during, and after the eruption
• Clear visualization of volcanic cooling effects despite concurrent climate factors

How to Run

• Open the notebook in Google Colab: https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1rcYXr6gWkGpB3pu4YYw59abWycCQ87mp

  Option 2: (Cells didn't run automatically)

  • Download NASA GISTEMP dataset: https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata_v4/GLB.Ts+dSST.csv
  • Run all cells and upload NASA GISTEMP dataset in order to reproduce the analysis
  • All necessary data processing and visualization will be generated automatically

Technologies Used

• Python
• Pandas (data manipulation and analysis)
• Matplotlib (data visualization and plotting)
• NumPy (numerical operations)

Dataset

• NASA GISTEMP: https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata_v4/GLB.Ts+dSST.txt
• NASA GISS: https://data.giss.nasa.gov/modelforce/strataer/tau.line_2012.12.txt
• Volcanic Eruption Ref.: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Volcano
• Content: Global temperature anomalies in Celsius
• Time Period: 1985-1995 (focusing on the decade surrounding the eruption)
• Preprocessing: Calculated 12-month running mean for trend analysis

Key Findings

• Mount Pinatubo's eruption caused a measurable global cooling effect
• The volcanic impact is clearly visible even when accounting for other concurrent natural climate factors
• The 12-month running mean effectively highlights the sustained cooling trend following the eruption
• Other natural disasters occurring during this period would have typically caused opposite temperature effects, making Pinatubo's cooling impact even more significant

Future Improvements

• Compare with other major volcanic eruptions (e.g., Tambora 1815, Krakatoa 1883)
• Incorporate additional climate variables (precipitation, atmospheric pressure)
• Analyze regional temperature variations rather than just global averages
• Add statistical significance testing for the observed temperature changes