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.

PROJECTS

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

PRODUCTS

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

PROGRAMS

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

ADAPTING CLIMATE SCIENCE IN THE SPRING OF COVID

While many are working to figure out how to live in this strange shutdown world during the COVID pandemic, PI-CASC-funded climate scientists struggle to continue their important work. The impact to ongoing research is quite variable because of a wide range of active project parameters and responsibilities: single researcher lab work; multi-person, multi-location collaborations; overseas field work; local field equipment maintenance by helicopter; supercomputing, multi-core modeling processing; and lap-top number-crunching. Each situation is affected differently, but all seem to be impacted in at least some way.

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.

man holding soil
CLIMATE CHALLENGES

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

lonely island in the pacific
STORY MAP

Explore the diversity of our research projects and learn more about our stakeholder-driven climate science.

coral in crystal blue water
CLIMATE RESOURCES

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

researchers collecting samples
OUTREACH

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

LATEST NEWS
Team stands next to the water where they will conduct tests.

Coastal sewage systems, sea-level rise, and the future health of ocean communities

Community, science, traditional knowledge, students, and government are working together to understand how sea-level rise will impact coastal sewage systems in Hawaiʻi, and where to prioritize removal of those systems to help protect the health and well-being of humans, fish, and coral ecosystems ...
Johnson, King to lead regional chapter in NCA 6

Johnson, King to lead regional chapter in NCA 6

PI-CASC leadership will be leading the charge in authoring the next National Climate Assessment for Hawaiʻi and the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands ...
TOOLS & RESOURCES
Adapting Culture to Climate Change

Watch this award-winning Voice of the Sea episode highlighting three PI-CASC place-based projects.

Sea Level Forecasts

Visit this online tool to track sea-level anomalies with seasonal predictions across the Pacific.

Coral Resilience Indicator Maps for CNMI

Download and explore maps evaluating facets of coral resilience across four CNMI islands.