Research Projects

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

Graphic showing where sewers versus on-site disposal systems are located

Assessing the vulnerability of coastal wastewater infrastructure to climate change

PI: Daniele Spirandelli, Asst. Professor of Coastal Policy & Community Development, UH Mānoa
Graduate Scholar: Theresa Dean, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, UH Mānoa
Collaborators: Roger Babcock, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UH Mānoa; Suwan Shen, Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2016

A professor reads off an instrument while her student records information, on the blacksand shore of the bay.

Investigating climate driven shifts in Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA for water resource and land management solutions

PI: Tracy Wiegner, Associate Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo
MCC Graduate Scholar: Louise Economy, Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2016

A student stands near a fence on a scrub-covered hillside with a faint rainbow in the mist behind her.

The effects of climate change on high elevation ecosystems and freshwater resources in Hawaiʻi

PI: Thomas Giambelluca, Professor of Geography, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Abby Frazier, Department of Geography, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2015

View across high-elevation slopes with clouds intruding between foreground bushes and background volcanic crests.

Cloud water interception in Hawai‘i – Part 1: Understanding the impact of fog on groundwater and ecosystems

PI: Thomas Giambelluca, Professor of Geography, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2015

Flames glow yellow and red behind a road-lining hedge.

Influences of climate change, climate variability, and drought on human communities and ecosystems in Hawaiʻi

PI: Christian Giardina, Research Ecologist, Inst. of Pacific Islands Forestry, US Forest Service
Funded: FY2015

Tracking climate variability through chloride concentration in municipal production well histories on the Yigo-Tumon basin

PI: Nathen Habanai, Assistant Professor of Groundwater Hydrology, University of Guam
Co-PI: Erin Miller, Environmental Science Graduate Program, University of Guam
Funded: FY2015

Helmeted Kaylyn Bautista records water drops within a cave.

Groundwater percolation in northern Guam: Insights from Jinapsan Cave

PI: John Jenson, Professor of Environmental Geology, WERI, University of Guam
Co-PI: Kaylyn Bautista, WERI, University of Guam
Funded: FY2015

Image shows the cover of the 2012 PIRCA product.

Supporting a collaborative regional assessment of future climate impacts on natural resources in the Pacific Islands

PI: Victoria Keener, Research Fellow, PacRISA, East-West Center, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: John Marra, Director of Pacific Regional Climate Services, NOAA, East-West Center, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2015

Forecasting climate and land use/cover change impacts on freshwater ecosystem services in Maui

PI: Christopher Lepczyk, Dept. Natural Resources & Environmental Mgmt, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Kirsten Oleson, NREM, UH Mānoa
Co-Is: Steven Gray, NREM, UH Mānoa; Yin-Phan Tsang, NREM, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2015

Baseline assessment of coral-associated microbial communities

PI: Craig Nelson, Assistant Researcher of Oceanography, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Emilia Sogin, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
Funded: FY2015

Brown coastal waters swirl along a steep cliff coastline.

Understanding future sediment transport to coastal waters and coral reef ecosystems in West Maui

PI: Kirsten Oleson, Asst. Professor of Ecological Economics, UH Mānoa
Collaborator: John Stock, Research Geologist, USGS
Funded: FY2015

An underwater view shows coral-covered rocks, some brown or purple-y, but many spots of branching, skeletal white coral.

Assessing the sustainability of culturally important marine sites in Guam and CNMI

PI: Laurie Raymundo, Professor of Marine Biology, University of Guam
Co-PI: Jeffrey Maynard, Marine Applied Research Center
Funded: FY2015

Projecting the frequency and impact of future coastal fooding and inundation events in the Pacific Islands

PI: Philip Thompson, Assoc. Director of UH Sea Level center, UH Mānoa
Co-Is: Matthew J. Widlansky, International Pacific Research Center, UH Mānoa; Janet M. Becker, Professor of Geology, UH Mānoa; Mark A. Merrifield, Professor of Oceanography, UH Mānoa; John J. Marra, Regional Climate Services Director, NOAA
Funded: FY2015

Waves splash against a railed cement wall that bears a "Caution: Sidewalk closed" sign.

Multi-year sea level predictions for the Pacific Ocean

PI: Axel Timmermann, International Pacific Research Center, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Matthew Widlansky, International Pacific Research Center, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2015

Underwater view of spreading and branching corals

Coral adaptation and acclimatization to global change

PI: Robert Toonen, Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Chris Jury, Department of Oceanography & HIMB, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2015