CLIMATE SCIENCE

CLIMATE PREDICTION AND TESTING

A tangled forest with extensive root networks shows a narrow water channel running back out of sight.

Mangrove vulnerability to sea-level rise factsheet

Mangrove forests and the benefits they provide to Micronesian ecosystems and communities are threatened by accelerating sea-level rise and human activities. Read this factsheet to learn more.
A native shrub overhangs a rocky stream

Projected species range maps over the next century

These maps address how climate change may shift plant distributions, particularly native endangered plants, within the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park to help inform management of Special Ecological Areas.
Overview of a large Hawaiian valley, looking out to the sea beyond

Climate Change Atlas: Dominant vegetation in the Hawaiian Islands

With changing climate possibly shifting the location and scale of suitable habitat for native Hawaiian plants, managers need concrete information, like these maps, on where likely best future habitats will exist to inform conservation decision making.
Waves splash against a railed cement wall that bears a "Caution: Sidewalk closed" sign.

Sea Level Forecasts

Short term sea level predictions are important to near-term planning for communities throughout the Pacific. This tool provides forecasts of monthly sea-level anomalies out to six months.
Open forest view of taller trees and lower ferns

Machine learning approaches to improve projections of future climate in Hawai‘i

PI: Tom Giambelluca, Professor of Geography, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Yusuke Hatanaka, Department of Computer and Data Science, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2020
A wide, chaotic streambed is flanked by green trees and underlain by irregular pahoehoe lava rocks.

Analyzing future precipitation extremes for resource management planning

PI: Rick Lader, Research Associate, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Co-Is: Abby Frazier, Assistant Professor of Geography, Clark University; Thomas Giambelluca, Professor of Geography, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2020
Spume-capped waves crash against a low black basalt rock shoreline

A shoreline inventory for Hawai‘i island to increase resilience

PI: Ryan Perroy, Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Science, UH Hilo
Co-PI: Aloha Kapono, Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Program, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2020
View down a white sandy beach overhung with palms, being lapped by sparkling waters with steep green mountains further along the coast

Sea-level rise viewer for American Samoa

PI: Phil Thompson, Associate Director of UH Sea Level center, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Carla Baizeau, Department of Oceanography, UH Mānoa
Co-Is: Kelley Anderson Tagarino, Extension Specialist, American Samoa Community College; Justin E. Stopa, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa; Curt Storlazzi, Research Geologist, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Funded: FY2020
Underwater scene of colorful corals and fish

Sea-level rise impacts on coral reef and mangrove interactions and resulting coastal flooding hazards

PI: Curt Storlazzi, Research Geologist, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Co-I: Karen Thorne, Research Ecologist, USGS Western Ecological Research Center
Funded: FY2020
A patch of fire amidst dry grasses

Predicting the Effects of Climate Change on the Spread of Fire-Promoting Plants in Hawai‘i

PI: Curt Daehler, Professor of Botany, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Lucas Fortini, Research Ecologist, USGS Pacific Islands Ecosystem Research Center; Clay Trauernicht Associate Fire Specialist, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2019