RESEARCH

RESEARCH PROJECTS

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

Open forest view of taller trees and lower ferns

Machine learning approaches to improve projections of future climate in Hawai‘i

PI: Tom Giambelluca, Professor of Geography, UH Mānoa
Graduate Scholar: Yusuke Hatanaka, Department of Computer and Data Science, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2020
Firefighters tend a grassy fire break line in front of burning brush, with a blackened, smoky landscape behind

Future of fire in the Pacific Islands: Towards a national synthesis for wildland fire under a changing climate

PI: Christian Giardina, Research Ecologist, Inst. of Pacific Islands Forestry, US Forest Service
Co-PI: Alyssa Anderson, Fire Post-doctoral Fellow, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2020
A very dry landscape with brown grassy hills and brown, dead trees

Scaling up the Hawai‘i Drought Knowledge Exchange

PI: Christian Giardina, Research Ecologist, Inst. of Pacific Islands Forestry, US Forest Service
Co-PI: Abby Frazier, Research Fellow, East-West Center, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2020
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.
A shallow valley is covered with dead brown grass and a scattering of dead and dying tree trunks.

Malo‘o ka lani, wela ka honua (When the sky is dry, the earth is parched)

PI: Christian Giardina, Research Ecologist, Inst. of Pacific Islands Forestry, US Forest Service
Co-PI: Katie Kamelamela, Postdoctoral Researcher, Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests
Funded: FY2020
A foot-long black, shiny flat fish with a high top fin is held for the camera

Understanding nutrient transport through streamflow and fish populations

PI: Tim Grabowski, Research Fish Biologist, Cooperative Fisheries Unit, USGS
Funded: FY2020
Hilly barren landscape with low burnt browned grass

Biochar as a mitigation tool for soil rehabilitation in Guam’s badlands and savannah grasslands

PI: Mohammad Golabi, Professor of Soil Science, University of Guam
CARM Graduate Scholar: Patrick Keeler, Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Guam
Funded: FY2020
A small reef fish, with bright yellow rings around the eyes.

How will changing reefscapes affect the prevalence of ciguatera on Hawaiian reefs?

PI: Tim Grabowski, Fish Biologist, Hawai‘i Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, USGS/Adjunct Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo
MCC Graduate Scholar: Nikola Rodriguez, Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2020
A small, brown bird sits on the branch of a tree

Development of an early warning system for climate-change related invasion by mosquitoes into Hakalau Forest NWR

PI: Patrick Hart, Professor of Biology, UH Hilo
MCC Graduate Scholar: Stephanie Mladinich, Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2020
Image looking up the trunk of a light-barked tree

Comparing arbuscular mycorrhizal diversity among different life stages of Intsia bijuga (Colebr.) Kuntze in Guam’s Limestone Forests

PI: Alexander Kerr, Professor of Marine Biology, University of Guam
CARM Graduate Scholar: Charles "CJ" Paulino, Environmental Science, University of Guam
Funded: FY2020
Looking down the coastline with heavy erosion of the beach leaving a steep sandy drop-off

Creating an inclusive visitor services plan for the Guam national wildlife refuge

PI: Romina King , Associate Professor of Geography, University of Guam
CARM Graduate Scholar: Marybelle Quinata , Micronesian Studies Department, University of Guam
Funded: FY2020
Corals spread across an outcrop, some beautifully purple, others deadly white

Using cutting-edge technology to assess coral reef bleaching and recovery in Guam and CNMI

PI: Romina King, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Guam
Co-PI: Ved Chirayath, Research Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center
Funded: FY2020
A wide, chaotic streambed is flanked by green trees and underlain by irregular pahoehoe lava rocks.

Analyzing future precipitation extremes for resource management planning

PI: Rick Lader, Research Associate, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Co-Is: Abby Frazier, Assistant Professor of Geography, Clark University; Thomas Giambelluca, Professor of Geography, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2020
Underwater image of colorful varieties of coral

Identifying locations for coral reef climate resilience

PI: Monica Moritsch, Research Ecologist, USGS Western Geographic Science Center
Funded: FY2020
Healthy coral outcrop bursting with colorful reef fish

How ridge-to-reef governance in Palau can enhance coastal food security

PI: Kirsten Oleson, Associate Professor of Ecological Economics, UH Mānoa
Graduate Scholar: Michelle Harangody, Department of Geography and Environment, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2020