Project 1 - Tremors Analysis

DU Bootcamp Project 1

(R1)

Analysts: Sarah Zachrich, Meg Estey, Thampi Mathews, Robin Bun, Jennie Brozena

Data Type: Geologic Earthquake Data
Data Source: USGS Earthquake Hazards Program Site - https://earthquake.usgs.gov

Project Scope

We will be looking at earthquake data on a global scale for the previous year (2019) to better understand where earthquakes occur most often on Earth along with some other variables we want to visualize. We will answer any related questions as the data admits.

This will include retreiving data using an API, cleaning and filtering the data as needed, analyzing the data and creating outputs to answer our target questions, discussing and presenting our findings along with resolving any issues and difficulties that come up during this process.

Target Questions

Is there a certain time of years earthquakes occur more often or more strongly?
Where are earthquakes most common?
Where are the biggest earthquakes occurring (& would you be able to feel them)?
Does earthquake depth have a correlation to strength?
How deep are most earthquakes and does location play a part in this?

Project Components

Image Files - saved from our shared Jupyter Notebook
Data Files - csv files of both our raw and filtered data pulled from the USGS site
EarthquakesNB.ipynb - shared Jupyter Notebook containing all code to pull data, perform all analysis and create all visuals needed to answer our target questions
-NB includes a writeup summarizing our findings at the bottom of the notebook
-Note: A google gkey is needed to run this notebook

What is an Earthquake and how is it caused?

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of stored energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The term earthquake is used to describe any seismic event (natural or human-caused) that creates seismic waves. (R2)

In this project we will be referencing Earthquake Magnitude - this is in reference to the Richter magnitude scale
A logarithmic scale that reflects the strength of an earthquake and the effect the quake may have
Each integer increase represents a 10-fold increase in quake magnitude
Effects:
2.5 or less - usually not felt but are recorded
2.5-5.5 - felt, minor damage
5.5-6 - slight damage to buildings
6-6.9 - potential major damage in populated areas
7-7.9 - major earthquake with major damage
8+ - great earthquake that can totally destroy communities near the epicentre
(R3)