CLIMATE SCIENCE

Coastal Hazards

COASTAL HAZARDS

Healthy, colorful corals on diplay with butterfly fish swimming around them, reflected in the underside of the shallow water’s surface

Unlocking reef resilience drivers to inform Pacific coral reef management

PI: Megan Donahue, Marine Researcher, HIMB, UH Mānoa
Co-PIs: Jessica Glazner, Dept of Marine Biology, UH Mānoa; Chad Wiggins, Palmyra Program Director, The Nature Conservancy
Funded: FY2022
Read More
A clear waterway snakes between tall trees with interwoven, gnarled root systems

Developing a Pacific mangrove monitoring network (PACMAN) in response to sea-level rise

PI: Richard MacKenzie, Research Ecologist, USDA FS Pacific Southwest Research Station
Co-PI: Maybeleen Apwong, TCBES, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2022
Read More
A small historical hut backed by palms sits on a rocky headland with waves in the foreground.

Sea Level Rise AR Visualizer for Puʻuhonua o Honaunau Park

This augmented reality app lets you visualize the future of sea-level rise at Pu’uohonua o Honauanua National Historical Park as if you were cruising over the peninsula in a helicopter!
Read More
Two students stand recording data at the water’s edge near a black rocky outcropping, while another student walks up the sand.

Predicting sea level rise impacts to coastal wastewater infrastructure and water quality

PI: Tracy Wiegner, Professor of Marine Sciences, UH Hilo
Co-PI: Ihilani Kamau, TCBES, UH Hilo
Co-Is: Steven Colbert, Associate Professor of Marine Sciences, UH Hilo; Ryan Perroy, Professor of Geography, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2022
Read More
A underwater landscape of multicolored corals

Coral resilience mapping in Guam and American Samoa

This tool provides GIS map layers to illustrate the growth and survivability of corals under several future climate scenarios for reefs in Guam and American Samoa.
Read More
High, aerial view of coral-fringed vegetated coastline

Coral response to land-to-ocean freshwater flux

PI: John Burns, Assistant Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2021
Read More
A wide brown stream meanders across lush grass and tree-covered plain into a bay

Prioritization planning for coastal wetland restoration on Molokaʻi

PI: Judith Drexler, Research Hydrologist, USGS California Water Science Center
Co-Is: James Jacobi, Biologist, USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center; Curt Storlazzi, Research Geologist, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Funded: FY2021
Read More
Coral scape with a few small yellow fish

Responses to transplanting corals to enhance reef resilience

PI: Crawford Drury, Affiliate Researcher, Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2021
Read More
Six students smile from within zoom boxes

2021 SURF Projects

Six students completed projects in climate adaptation science for the 2021 SURF program, investigating stream flow quality and variability, coastal erosion, fish thermal tolerance, fishpond phytoplankton distribution, and reef microplastics.
Read More
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.
Read More