Student Research Reports

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El Niño is a periodic climate phenomenon marked by warmer than average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, which can influence weather patterns in Southeast Michigan, potentially causing warmer winters with less snowfall and unusual precipitation patterns. El Niño events have implications greater than warmer weather, such as pest control. For example, mosquitoes need only a few centimeters of standing water to breed, and El Niño events generally stimulate insect outbreaks. This research utilized frost tube methodology to investigate the possible impact of El Niño winter conditions on ground freezing dynamics. At the study site, a frost tube was placed to monitor ground freezing depth throughout the winter season. Data on air temperature, surface temperature, snowpack depth, and other parameters were collected to assess relationships with ground freezing dynamics. The study focused on highlighting how El Niño winters possibly impact ground freezing depth, recognizing possible implications on infrastructure management and specie interactions in urban environments. Inverse relationships were observed between air temperature and freezing depth, freezing depth and surface temperature, and snowpack depth and air temperature. In contrast, direct relationships were observed between snowpack depth and freezing depth. These findings suggested snowpack insulation, considering any time a snowpack was present, the ground freezing depth was >0 centimeters. However, further analysis is required to fully understand the underlying mechanisms and implications of those mechanisms. Future research should aim to expand the scope of inquiry by incorporating additional variables and extending data collection across multiple winter seasons across multiple sites.