Dr Niamh Cahill: Modelling Sea Level Change

Niamh Cahill is an applied statistician with interests in developing statistical models for the analysis of time dependent, compositional and/or spatial data. She uses a Bayesian approach to statistical modelling, which is suitable for developing complex hierarchical models, accounts of uncertainties related to model parameters, incorporates prior knowledge, and shares information across data sites. Her research covers a range of statistical disciplines including: stochastic processes; time series analysis; computation and simulation; and multivariate analysis.

Niamh completed her PhD in University College Dublin in 2015. Following this she spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher in UMASS Amherst. Niamh joined the Mathematics and Statistics department at Maynooth University in 2018. One aspect of her research focuses on the development of statistical models to assess and interpret indicators of climate change, specially sea-level change.

Rising seas increase the vulnerability of cities and associated infrastructure that line the coastline of Ireland because of higher extreme sea levels (and flooding), coastal erosion, salinization of surface and ground waters, and degradation of coastal habitats. Armed with statistical knowledge of how sea levels have been changing in the 20th and 21st century, future links between mean sea-level and sea level extremes due to storm surges and wave climate can be established, which are vital to inform decision making related to flood risks. Dr Cahill has recently been awarded funding from Science Foundation Ireland/ Frontiers for the Future Project. This project will focus on predicting Sea Levels and Sea Level Extremes for Ireland