ENSO Phenomenon Visualizer

An interactive web application that visualizes the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon in the Eastern Pacific, exploring how extreme weather events impact global economies and microfinance institutions.

Overview

This project accompanies academic research examining the economic impact of two major El Niño events (1997-1998 and 2015-2016) on Peruvian microfinance institutions using a multiperiod difference-in-difference econometric model.

The application displays satellite imagery from the Copernicus Climate Data Store (ERA5), visualizing:

• Sea Surface Temperature (SST) animations during El Niño episodes
• Mean Wave Direction (MWD) patterns for the same periods

Features

• Interactive video visualizations of historical El Niño events
• Educational content on ENSO's economic impact
• Downloadable Master's Thesis with full research methodology
• Geospatial mapping using Cartopy and ERA5 climate data

Tech Stack

• Backend: Flask (Python 3.9)
• Data Processing: xarray, NumPy, Matplotlib, Cartopy
• Frontend: HTML5, CSS3, Jinja2 templating
• Deployment: Vercel (serverless)

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.9+
• pip

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/ENSO.git
   cd ENSO

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Run the application:

   python flask_routes.py

   Or using npm:

   npm start

4. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:5000

Project Structure

ENSO/
├── flask_routes.py          # Main Flask application
├── generate_plots.py        # SST visualization generator
├── generate_wave_direction_plot.py  # Wave direction plot generator
├── requirements.txt         # Python dependencies
├── vercel.json              # Vercel deployment config
├── templates/
│   └── index.html           # Main HTML template
├── static/
│   └── Master_Thesis_Nicolas_J_Aguilar.pdf
└── *.mp4                    # Pre-generated visualization videos

Data Source

Climate data sourced from the Copernicus Climate Data Store:

Hersbach, H., et al. (2023): ERA5 hourly data on pressure levels from 1940 to present. Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Climate Data Store (CDS). DOI: 10.24381/cds.bd0915c6

Research

This visualization accompanies the Master's Thesis:

"Impact of ENSO on Peruvian Microfinance Institutions" Nicolas J. Aguilar

The research applies a multiperiod difference-in-difference model to estimate how El Niño events affected microfinance resilience between the 1997-1998 and 2015-2016 episodes.

License

This project is available for educational and research purposes.

Author

Nicolas J. Aguilar