Inspiration
Team-r selected two complex and intertwined problems surrounding the Saharan dust in T&T as we are faced with these challenges as we type. In recent times, the people around us - our friends, family, and co-workers as well as ourselves have been enduring a myriad of health issues. Cold symptoms, persistent headaches, watery eyes, and aggravated sinus and asthma problems have become an everyday struggle. These afflictions not only make everyone irritable and sick but also render all of us incapable of venturing outdoors. The impact of this distressing situation has reached such an alarming extent that conversations about Saharan dust have become a regular occurrence in our community. Paradoxically, the presence of this Saharan dust in Trinidad and Tobago is essential for the sustenance of healthy vegetation as our concern as a country is with the imminent increase in food prices yet deteriorating ecosystem due to climate change. The nourishment of our vegetation is of utmost importance for our well-being, and the Saharan dust plays a crucial role in supplementing its growth. Unfortunately, both problems co-exist and is climate change driven. Hence, we opted to start a conversation on it.
What it does
Team-r presents a project that utilizes artificial intelligence and spatiotemporal analysis of the geographic relationships between, Saharan dust surges, vegetation and human health in a climate change context utilizing localized climate data and surface conditions to predict the intensity and location of surges in South Trinidad for 2024. As this is a climate-related problem it is at a much larger scale, thus localized efforts are quite limited. Our solution will package these predictions with pertinent service layers like health centres and create a relatable, human-driven web experience to help stakeholders understand the phenomena itself, the vulnerability of each village, it will also help them explore the predictions and connect them with other stakeholders. 'The Dusty South Experience' was conceived as an immersive web-based platform aimed at raising awareness regarding the anticipated surges of Saharan Dust in 2024 and exploring viable approaches to harnessing the deposited dust through the utilization of advanced geoAI coding and predictive analytics in the region of South Trinidad. The experiential journey commences with the provision of predictions for 2024, guiding users through a comprehensive understanding of the villages that are likely to be most affected in comparison to urbanized areas where the impact on human health is projected to be more severe. Notably, this interactive experience underscores the potential resilience of certain villages owing to their geographical advantages, while highlighting the adverse consequences faced by urban centres. The immersive encounter extends further to encompass an expandable web-based map interface, offering users the opportunity to actively engage with the actual data. This interactive functionality enables users to search, measure, select, save, and share pertinent information. Of paramount significance, this facet of the experience empowers users to develop a deeper comprehension of the implications based on their specific location and the accessibility of vital services in their vicinity. In line with the immersive nature of the experience, a range of precautions are provided, alongside insightful recommendations pertaining to the Saharan Dust issue. Moreover, a call to action is employed to foster stakeholder engagement, emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts in addressing the challenges associated with these impending dust surges.
How we built it
The project was built using free and open sources by choice so that the process is replicable by other affected countries. However, to package the information on short notice and due to the limited capabilities, we utilized a software known as ArcGIS Suite made available to us by the University of the West Indies. We started by defining the project scope and creating a community feedback form to validate that this was a real problem being solved. Then to do the spatiotemporal analysis on Saharan dust, vegetation, and human health in South Trinidad, a data directory was created. The 1st Tier (Raw Data including open source and survey data that was collected), 2nd Tier (Pre-processed geospatial and non-spatial data) and 3rd Tier is the Predictions. We opted to utilize Jupyter Notebooks in the Kaggle IDE to write our Python and HTML code for all the calculations done. In these calculations datasets obtained from our stakeholders, UWI, USGS Earth Explorer for Landsat OLI 7 and 8 satellite imagery and NOAA open data centre for local climatology data to name a few were utilized.
Challenges we ran into
Undertaking this project was quite enjoyable, However, team-r encountered several challenges that had to be overcome along the way. Challenges such as access to open source data, the size of the data and the technological requirements for using larger datasets. We also had to continuously remind stakeholders to participate in the community data collection process we undertook but our greatest challenge was being able to complete the atleast a noteworthy number of calculations as well as package it into a solution with the competition deadline. Nonetheless, we were able to overcome these challenges ultimately.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Our greatest achievement was being able to start the conversation on bringing awareness to the stakeholders through the use of a long term prediction. Most Saharan dust model predictors give only 7 days prior. We believe that this was not sufficient time to prepare for a surge.
What we learned
We learnt so much about the mysterious Saharan Dust.
What's next for Project Paradust
We intend to use this hackathon as a rocket to launch the idea into the universe which will help garner local support. It helps to fully publish this solution but we also will delve into an implementation plan consisting of financial sustainability planning, social media planning and various stakeholder engagement opportunities.
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