On a practical side of research, something like water supplies in the next decade are truly important studies to try and do. Water supplies obviously are among the very most important pieces of civilization, and can affect tens of millions of people very easily should something like severe drought hit densely populated regions.
An example of such a study is being done for the American southwest and southeast. While the southwest has been in drought for years, they are better prepared to handle the consequences because their water storage is robust. It turns out that some number of studies predict that the southeast is likely to suffer sever drought due to climate change trends over several decades, and the infrastructure and ability to handle this, especially with the large population growth over that period of time, could lead to serious water shortages.
This is fascinating, and absolutely vital, research. It is challenging since climate models are generally made to look at long-term changes, rather than what might happen in the short term. Policymakers must take this short-term information and plan for what to do in the next 10 years. Think about projects like this, where you can get at datasets related to some issue of interest and importance. Look for trends in those data, and see if you can make any reasonable predictions for the future! This is another avenue to find and create research questions and projects.
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