The CREST Project was introduced to us a few weeks ago and there has been a lot of build up through introducing us to brainstorming ideas, finding sources, et cetera, before we formally began the research process. I chose an area of science that personally interested- typhoons (hurricanes) in relation to climate science- due to its current relevance and my personal experience to it. When I lived in Taiwan, typhoons were a frequent summer-autumn occurrence and has the potential to cause devastating consequences to human lives and infrastructure. Thus, given how climate change has the potential to alter or in many cases, worsen, extreme weather phenomena, understanding how this relates to the formation and development of typhoons is important for projecting and preparing for future impacts.

In this project, I have decided that I will see if I can find primary data sources on the temporal history of typhoons in the Northwest Pacific Basin to analyze, as a preliminary search of existing literature turns up very contradictory conclusions. I will attempt to find data on intensity and the year formed for the countries of Japan, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam, places which are hit hardest by typhoons as they directly surround the basin.