CLIMATE SCIENCE

Coastal Hazards

COASTAL HAZARDS

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.
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View over a makaha (wooden gate in rock wall) towards open fishpond waters, with a grass shack to the left

Effect of extreme tidal events on future sea-level rise scenarios for He‘eia fish communities

PI: Yoshimi Rii, Research Coordinator, He'eia NERR/HIMB, UH Mānoa
Co-Is: Rob Toonen, Research Professor, HIMB, UH Mānoa; Kawika Winter, Reserve Manager, Heʻeia NERR/HIMB, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2021
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Scenic view towards low waves pushing onto a tree-lined beach

Developing the American Samoa climate and GIS data portal

PI: Christopher Shuler, Assistant Hydrologist, Water Resources Research Center, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Annie Chien, Earth and Planetary Sciences, UH Mānoa Funded: FY2021
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Plant seedlings grow in small black buckets

Vulnerability of coastal ecosystems to increased salinity from climate change

PI: Kasey Barton, Associate Professor of Botany, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Anna McCormick, Department of Botany, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2020
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A hand measuring the size of 'opihi on the rocks.

US Fish & Wildlife Service ‘opihi project podcast

A fifteen minute podcast hosted by the US Fish & Wildlife Service highlighting MCC graduate student Lauren Kapono and her work monitoring 'opihi (Cellana spp.) along the Kalaemanō shoreline of Hawaiʻi Island.
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A variety of lush trees form an intergrown area.

Agroforestry in the Climate of the Marshall Islands

This agroforestry tool provides Marshallese agricultural producers with information and resources to help adapt growing practices to changing climate conditions.
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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.
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Students examine rocks and marine life at the oceanʻs edge.

He ala ʻae kai – The path near the sea: Climate inflictions upon intertidal

PI: John Burns, Assistant Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo
Co-PI: Lauren Kapono, Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science, UH Hilo; Haunani Kane, Post-doctoral Researcher, Marine Science Department, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2020
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Airplane view looking down along a line of small, tree-covered islands surrounded by shallow lagoons and ocean waves

Enhancing Stakeholder Capacity for Coastal Inundation Assessment in the Marshall Islands

PI: Dean Gesch, Research Scientist, USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center
Funded: FY2020
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Student examines plants along a greenery-bordered path

2020 SURF Projects

Three students completed projects in climate adaptation science for the 2020 SURF program, investigating salinity tolerance in coastal plants, fire-plant interactions, and new techniques to improve reforestation efforts.
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