Research Projects

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

High surf pounds an eroded shoreline, undercutting a bluff beneath houses.

Forecasting beach loss from sea-level rise on the island of Kauaʻi

PI: Charles Fletcher, Professor of Earth Sciences, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2014

Changing Hawaiian seascapes and their management implications

PI: Noelani Puniwai, Affiliate Faculty, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2014

A boxy instrument sits near a coral outcrop on the rocky sea bottom.

Real-time observations of benthic ocean chemistry on two coral reefs in west Hawaiʻi

PI: Steven Colbert, Assistant Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo
Co-PI: Jim Beets, Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2013

Scenic underwater scene with a coral landscape

Projections of future coral reef communities in DOI-managed coastal areas in the Hawaiian Islands

PI: Erik Franklin, Associate Researcher, HIMB, UH Mānoa
Co-I: Rob Toonen , Researcher, HIMB, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2013

Valuing climate change impacts on coral reef ecosystem services

PI: Kirsten Oleson, Assistant Professor of Ecological Economics, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2013

Coral reef resilience to climate change in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands

PI: Laurie Raymundo, Professor of Marine Biology, University of Guam
Co-PI: Jeffrey Maynard, Marine Applied Research Center
Funded: FY2013

Houses balance on the very edge of a low bluff above a sandy beach.

Empirical projection of future shoreline position and inundation due to sea level rise

PI: Charles Fletcher , Professor of Earth Sciences, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2012

A cluster of three barrel-shaped, silvery-green plants

Assessing viability of the Haleakalā silversword

PI: Paul Krushelnycky, Asst. Researcher, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Lloyd Loope , Botanist, USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center
Funded: FY2012

A bright red bird with a long, curved beak sits on a yellow flower

Vulnerability of Hawaiian forest birds to climate change

PI: Michael Samuel, Wildlife Ecologist, USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit
Funded: FY2012