Data Table
Variable
|
Label
|
Values
|
ID
|
Area ID
|
Case number
|
AreaBurned
|
Acres Burned
|
|
ENSO
|
El Niño–Southern Oscillation in the tropical Pacific (ENSO) State
|
1 = El Niño Years
2 = La Niña Years
3 = Neutral Years
|
Temp
|
Global Average Temperature (°F)
|
1 = below 58.4
2 = 58.4 - 58.7
3 = above 58.7
|
AQI
|
Air Quality Index
|
1 = Moderate
2 = Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
3 = Unhealthy
4 = Very Unhealthy
5 = Hazardous
|
Wildfires have been seen to be connected to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) that includes El Niño (Marlier et al., 2013) and La Niña (Harrison & Meindl, 2001). “El Niño and La Niña are opposite phases of a natural climate pattern across the tropical Pacific Ocean that swings back and forth every 3-7 years on average (National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, 2016).” The ENSO pattern in the tropical Pacific can be in one of three states: El Niño, Neutral, or La Niña. El Niño (the warm phase) and La Niña (the cool phase) lead to significant differences from the average ocean temperatures. By examining the scope and severity of global wildfires along with the ENSO pattern, we might obtain critical public health information that could be useful to wildfire prevention strategies and interventions. As the primary investigator, you plan to assess mean differences in the burned areas of wildfires on earth among three states of ENSO patterns and discuss related findings with the public health professionals and lay audiences.
i. Using the given dataset to answer the research question: “Do the burned areas due to wildfires (measured by acres burned) vary based upon three El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) states?” Analyze the data using statistical software of your choice. (Note: significance level = 0.05)
a. Report and interpret your statistical results, as well as create tables/figures in accordance with the APA Guidelines for professional audiences. (Note: Your report MUST contain indications of proper assumption tests for the proposed analysis, describe relevant results of descriptive statistics, and discuss conclusions from inferential statistics.)
ii. Overall, based upon the findings above, how do you present your findings to lay audiences (including policymakers)?
a. Present and discuss your analytical results and potential impact for the lay audiences and health policymakers (with the support from the scientific evidence based on the peer-reviewed literature).