CLIMATE SCIENCE

WATER RESOURCES

A variety of plants from grasses to tall trees cluster together in an open space

Enhancing social-ecological resilience through restoration of coastal agroforestry systems

PI: Leah Bremer, Assistant Specialist and Conservation Scientist, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Tressa Hoppe, Botany Department, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2022
Five SURF students pose in front of a steep vegetated slope

2022 SURF Projects

Five students completed projects in climate adaptation science for the 2022 SURF program, investigating fire-prone invasive grasses, spillover effects of Marine Protected Areas, shifts in estuarine fish biodiversity, optimal regeneration conditions for koa, and effects of marine warming on different phytoplankton strains.
A wide, chaotic streambed is flanked by green trees and underlain by irregular pahoehoe lava rocks.

Shifts in carbon exports from a Hawaiian watershed under a changing climate

PI: Tracy Wiegner, Associate Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo
Co-PIs: Walter Boger, TCBES, UH Hilo; Steven Colbert, Assistant Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2022
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
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
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.
Dry grasses scatter across a brown lava field

Pacific Drought Knowledge Exchange PWW factsheets

The PDKE seeks to address the critical need for scientists to generate locally relevant science products for managers adapting to hotter, drier climates. Explore these factsheets for Puʻu Waʻawaʻa.
White, denuded tree sits amidst dry scrub before brown aa flow

Pacific Drought Knowledge Exchange HAVO factsheets

The PDKE seeks to address the critical need for scientists to generate locally relevant science products for managers adapting to hotter, drier climates. Explore these factsheets for the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
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
Low cascading waterfall with overhanging trees

How do Hawaiʻi stakeholders use and contribute to land-to-sea ecosystem service analyses

PI: Clay Trauernicht, Ecosystem and Fire Extension Specialist, NREM, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2021