Research Projects

PI-CASC supports research that generates actionable climate science within several key focus areas defined by regional stakeholder needs.

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

Angled aerial view of wetlands near a sandy coastline

Connecting ecosystems from mountains to the sea in a changing climate

PI: Yinphan Tsang, Associate Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, UH Mānoa
Co-I: Tim Grabowski, Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, USGS
Co-PIs: Yu-Fen Huang, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, UH Mānoa; Leigh Engels, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2020

A narrow stream runs between vegetation covered banks

Impacts of extreme events on native and nonnative Hawaiian aquatic species

PI: Yinphan Tsang, Associate Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, UH Mānoa
Co-Is: Abigail Lynch, Climate Adaptation Science Centers; Timothy Grabowski, Hawaiʻi Cooperative Fishery Research Unit
Funded: FY2020

A group of college students on the shore all look to one holding a water sample.

Develop, coordinate, and build capacity for educational and community outreach opportunities for PI-CASC

PI: Sheree Watson, Program Director, USGS Office of Science Quality & Integrity
Funded: FY2020

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

Climate change, variability, and drought in the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands

PI: Abby Frazier, Research Fellow, East-West Center, UH Mānoa
Co-I: Christian Giardina, Research Ecologist, Inst. of Pacific Islands Forestry, US Forest Service; Susan Cordell, Research Ecologist, USDA Forest Service; Clay Trauernicht, Associate Fire Specialist, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2019

A hiker steps off a boradwalk snaking through a swampy area

Assessing mosquito populations in Kauaʻi to help limit the spread of avian disease and inform the conservation of Hawaiian forest birds

PI: Dennis LaPointe, Research Ecologist, USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center
Funded: FY2019

Pilons and interpretive signs border flooded walkways and grassy areas as the surf lies feet away.

The impact of climate change and sea-level rise on the future flooding of coastal parks and refuges in Hawaiʻi and the US Affiliated Pacific Islands

PI: Curt Storlazzi , Research Geologist, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Funded: FY2019

A small historical hut backed by palms sits on a rocky headland with waves in the foreground.

Visualizing sea-level rise at Pu‘uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historic Park

PI: Philip Thompson, Assoc. Director of UH Sea Level center, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Nemanja Komar , Scientific Programmer, UH Sea Level center, UH Mānoa; Darren Lerner, Director, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program
Funded: FY2019

Two men stand amidst elevated root systems of mangrove trees, watching another installing an instrument.

The future resiliency of mangrove forests to sea-level rise in the Western Pacific

PI: Karen Thorne, Research Ecologist, USGS Western Ecological Research Center
Co-PI: Richard MacKenzie, Research Ecologist, US Forest Service
Funded: FY2019

Three students stand on shoreline, one holding a water sample bottle

Water Quality in the face of Climate Change: Establishing a baseline in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia

PI: Tracy Wiegner, Assoc. Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo
Co-I: Bryan Tonga, Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2019

A large pond is surrounded by lush greenery

Science needs assessment to support management of loko i‘a resources

PI: Rosie Alegado, Assistant Professor, Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program, UH Mānoa
Co-I: Brenda Asuncion , Kuaʻaina Ulu ʻAuamo (KUA); Scott Laursen, UH Hilo; Katy Hintzen, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program; Miwa Tamanaha, Kuaʻaina Ulu ʻAuamo (KUA)
Funded: FY2018

Man lays a small fish along a ruler, with more fish in a tray nearby.

E Hui Pū: a collaborative approach to understand climate change impacts on traditional Hawaiian ‘ōpelu…

PI: John Burns, Assistant Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo
Co-Is: Tim Grabowski, Research Fish Biologist, Hawai‘i Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, USGS/Adjunct Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo; Courtney Hurt, Consultant, Conservation International
Funded: FY2018

A student, grinning at the camera, sits in a small boat beached on a sandbar while she takes water samples from a bag

Coral reef CO2 variations at the Coastal Ocean Hawai‘i Acidification Network (COHAMN): Impact of basin scale oceanographic forcing

PI: Eric DeCarlo, Professor of Oceanography, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Lucie Knor, Department of Oceanography, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2018