CLIMATE SCIENCE OF THE PACIFIC

The Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PI-CASC) is a collaborative partnership between the US Geological Survey and a university consortium hosted by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, with the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and the University of Guam, designed to support sustainability and climate adaptation in communities across the Pacific Islands.

WHAT WE DO

Our goal is to provide natural resource managers and cultural stewards in federal, state, and local arenas access to the best science available on climate change and other stressors impacting the region’s natural and cultural resources. Emphasizing cooperative efforts between researchers and managers, we aim to create actionable science and accessible products to use on real problems.

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PROJECTS

PI-CASC research generates actionable climate science within several key focus areas defined by regional stakeholder needs.

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PRODUCTS

PI-CASC strives to turn research results into usable products, providing resource managers the tools to address climate impacts.

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PROGRAMS

PI-CASC programs focus efforts on topics like co-production, student and regional capacity building, and stakeholder networking.

CLIMATE ADAPTATION

The Pacific Islands region is among the first to experience climate shifts and witness their socio-ecological effects. To adapt, we aim to understand these climate change impacts and identify effective adaptation strategies using cutting-edge research, regular dialogue with stakeholders and community members, and sharing of new and available online resources.

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CLIMATE CHALLENGES

Learn about some of the foremost climate challenges facing the Pacific region across land, sea, and sky.

Looking across an expanse of bleached and unbleached staghorn coral branches, with schools of fishes swimming across and above the field
CLIMATE IMPACTS: CORAL BLEACHING

Explore the impacts of climate change on ecosystems, species, and processes, starting with coral bleaching.

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CLIMATE RESOURCES

Discover new resources for your climate adaptation needs in this curated selection of online sites and tools.

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OUTREACH

Connect through in-person and virtual workshops, interactive forums, webinars, and more.

LATEST NEWS
Carlsmith Beach Park

A long term, multi student project leads to recent publication

Research by a former Manager Climate Corps student leads to another study that analyzed the levels of pathogens entering Hilo Bay under varying weather conditions. This study was recently published in Water Environmental Research. ...
A scuba diver is observing a bed of staghorn corals, which are varying in shades of white and dark yellow

Pacific Islands brace for ongoing global coral bleaching event

The Micronesia region is on a coral bleaching watch, with Guam already seeing early signs of paling corals. Learn more about the effects coral bleaching has had in the Pacific in the recent past and the outlook for the next few months ...
AND EVENTS
Pacific RISCC July 2024 Webinar - Invasive Species Threaten the Success of Climate Change Adaptation Efforts
- Virtual

Pacific RISCC July 2024 Webinar – Invasive Species Threaten the Success of Climate Change Adaptation Efforts

In this talk, Leigh Greenwood and Dr. Laura Brewington will discuss a new white paper for the U.S. federal government that offers a blueprint for transforming how invasive species are considered within U.S. climate change planning and processes. ...
Pacific RISCC June Webinar - When should we move species outside their range as islands change?
- Virtual

Pacific RISCC June Webinar – When should we move species outside their range as islands change?

In this talk, Dr. Jeff Burgett will discuss a new decision support framework for conservation introductions, the process used to develop it, and how we can ensure decisions to move species are inclusive, transparent, and defensible. ...
TOOLS & RESOURCES
Sea-level Rise AR visualizer for PUHO

Fly over a future Pu’uhonua o Honaunua Park using this augmented reality app to see the effects of sea-level rise.

K-12 Education Hub

Visit this online resource for students and teachers to explore place-based climate science learning materials, tools, and data.

Pacific Islands Sea Level Rise Project Explorer

Explore this interactive tool presenting sea-level rise research projects and tools across the Pacific.