HAPPENINGS

Two new publications associated with PI-CASC-funded work have just been released as USGS reports, exploring groundwater recharge across the Hawaiian Islands.

The first report, first authored by Heidi Kāne and called “Estimated groundwater recharge for mid-century and end-of-century climate projections, Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, Maui, and the Island of Hawai‘i,” presents estimates of groundwater recharge rates and other water-budget components for a 2020 land cover and a set of recent and future climate conditions for six of the main Hawaiian Islands. Climate scenarios include: 1978–2007 rainfall, a mid-century climate scenario, an end-of-century dry-climate scenario, an end-of-century wet-climate scenario, and a historical drought scenario for Lāna‘i. The report is accompanied by a USGS data release that includes geographic information system files (shapefiles) of water-budget components.

The second report, first authored by Alan Mair and called “Effects of drought and cloud-water interception on groundwater recharge and wildfire hazard for recent and future climate conditions, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and the Island of Hawaiʻi,” presents results for quantifying the effects of drought and reduced cloud-water interception (CWI) on groundwater recharge and wildfire hazard for five of the main Hawaiian Islands. Two drought conditions, historical and future, were defined for each island. The report is accompanied by USGS data releases with one set of shapefiles that includes estimates of mean annual recharge and another that includes frequency characteristics of selected wildfire indicators.