It鈥檚 an all-too-familiar expression among Nova Scotians: 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change!鈥� However, research underway at Dal鈥檚 Faculty of Agriculture may help to make weather predictions for the province more accurate.
Second-year Actuarial Science student Sean Mekers is coming to the Dal Agricultural Campus from the University of Calgary this summer to work with Professor Haibo Niu on just this topic.
An actuary analyzes the financial consequences of risk by using mathematics, statistics and financial theory to study uncertain future events. Sean will apply his knowledge in statistical downscaling to apply global climate predictions to a local scale for more accurate weather predictions. 聽
鈥淕lobal climate models are used to create a general view of how the world鈥檚 weather will change in the next century, but statistical downscaling allows for a closer view of how different regions in the Maritimes will change,鈥� says Sean.
Sean is one of three NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award recipients this summer on the Ag Campus. This award is meant to stimulate an interest in research in the natural sciences and engineering while encouraging students to undertake graduate studies and pursue a research career in these fields.
鈥淲hen I found out that I received the award I was ecstatic,鈥� says Sean. 鈥淚 am very much looking forward to combining my math background with a more agricultural environmental field of study鈥� it鈥檚 nice to be able to have such a great opportunity in my hometown, just minutes from my home.鈥�
Family connections
In fact, both of Sean鈥檚 parents work at the AC. 鈥淚 have spent a fair bit of time on campus, in addition to the work I鈥檝e started this summer,鈥� Sean explains. 鈥淚鈥檝e had the chance to meet and become friends with a number of faculty and students of the AC and the campus has always been friendly and inviting.鈥�
Sean鈥檚 research is being supervised by Dr. Niu (left) in the Faculty of Agriculture鈥檚 Department of Engineering. Among his various areas of research expertise are the effects of climate change on agriculture water resources. he also teaches courses on the fundamentals of environmental engineering.
Sean hopes his work could have beneficial, long-term effects for the industry.
鈥淜nowing how the weather will look in different regions decades from now is an important piece of information. By attaining this information, one could see, for example, how growing seasons will change in different parts of the province.
鈥淎dditionally, a number of statistics regarding precipitation and temperature can help predict how farming will be affected by future weather in different regions. Being able to accurately predict the weather in different locations across the Maritimes can have a variety of uses in the agricultural industry and in other industries as well.鈥�
Sean is passionate about his work. 鈥淚 like to be able to put my stamp of approval on something and be happy with what I鈥檝e completed,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he AC has been an integral part of my life growing up and having the chance to come work here for the summer is great.鈥�