CLIMATE SCIENCE

COASTAL HAZARDS

Houses cluster along a narrow strip of land by the ocean, backed by steep hills with palm trees in the foreground.

American Samoa Sea Level Rise Viewer

This interactive web tool provides access to sea-level rise information for decisionmakers and community members to plan for the impacts of rising sea levels in American Samoa.
Waves crash over a stone wall and flow across a cemented parking lot, beneath a blue sky

Pacific Islands Sea Level Rise Project Explorer

Sea-level rise impacts are prevalent throughout the Pacific, as is the research to adapt to those impacts. This new interactive tool compiles information about SLR projects in one place to help avoid duplication of efforts and encourage collaborations for future work.
Four students wearing lei pose by PI-CASC banner

2023 SURF Projects

Four students completed projects in climate adaptation science for the 2023 SURF program, investigating how forests vegetation shifts in response to climate change, the connection between climate and humpback whale health, whether added nutrients can improve coral thermal resilience, and sea-level rise impacts to community infrastructure.
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
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
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!
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
Coral resilience mapping in Guam and American Samoa

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.
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
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