Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

2017: "From Sea To Shining Sea: Looking Ahead With The National Park Service", Abhay Gupta '18, James Wei '18, Istvan Kovach '18, Shyam Sai '18, Darius Hong '18

Distinguished Student Work

There is a natural inclination for humanity to view the Earth as our steadfast, never-changing home. After all, it seems as permanent as the ground beneath our feet. However, nothing could be further from the truth, especially in today’s rapidly changing climes. Global temperatures are on the rise, and with them comes an increase in sea levels, wildfires, and hurricanes, three serious, expensive issues. Unfortunately for the National Park Service (NPS), who guard ninety-seven coastal units, coastlines are especially vulnerable to such problems. Thus, the NPS must take extra precautions and expenditures to maintain and protect them. With limited budget, …

2017: "Park2vec: A Vector Representation Of Our National Parks’ Climate Change Susceptibility", William Tong '17, Ankit Agarwal '17, George Moe '17, Aakash Lakshmanan '17

Distinguished Student Work

With over 400 units, between them covering almost 850 million acres of carefully preserved land, the National Park Service (NPS) acts as steward to the nation’s natural treasures. In the move to the Twenty-First century, the NPS faces numerous looming challenges, particularly those related to a rapidly changing climate. It was our task to strategize with the Service in addressing three such issues, leveraging our experience in mathematical modelling and data analysis to aid them in the quest to protect and to preserve.

The first problem under consideration was determining the risk associated with sea-level change for five different coastal …