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This project was designed to use climate models to produce projections of changes in sea temperatures and ocean chemistry for coastal marine areas in Micronesia as well as reports that describe the outlook of culturally important marine sites in Guam and CNMI. The projections and maps were expected show what the current state of climate science suggests the future holds for marine areas in Micronesia if we continue to use fossil fuels aggressively. These projections of sea conditions will become the foundation of outlook reports for Tumon Bay in Guam, Lao Lao Bay and Saipan Lagoon in Saipan, and northern Tinian Island. The selected areas are among the most important sites for recreation in Guam and CNMI and, as...
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Surrounded by saltwater, Hawaiian communities depend on freshwater streams for consumption, irrigation, traditional Hawaiian practices, and habitat for native fish and other stream life. It is important to be able to predict how Hawaiʻi’s streams will be affected by changing rainfall patterns to enable sustainable management of critical freshwater resources. However, to date, limited data and the uncertain effects of climate change have hindered predictions of future streamflow. Through this project, scientists developed a model that provides a way to estimate future stream low flow (streamflow during a period of prolonged dryness) by categorizing streams based on their physical characteristics. While the model...
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The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) spreads over 29 atolls and has a population of over 50,000 people; over 27,000 of those people live on the Majuro Atoll, RMI’s capital. Sea level rise threatens the very existence of RMI as high-end projections of sea level rise by the end of the century exceed the average elevation of these low atoll reef islands. Already, waves wash over Majuro during “king tides” when strong winds blow from the west across the broad lagoon, or when there are high open ocean waves. Flooding waves breach island shores in multiple locations and wash into homes, cemeteries, across roads, and into commercial districts. Over the past decade, there has been a widespread exodus of residents...
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We depict changing eruptive features within the summit caldera of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi with rapid-response digital elevation models (DEMs) acquired since a series of caldera-filling effusive eruptions began on December 20, 2020. These eruptions follow the caldera collapse of 2018, with new lava progressively filling the approximately 1-cubic-kilometer pit that formed between May and August of that year. The majority of the provided DEMs were constructed via structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry from either helicopter or uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) overflight images, with the remainder constructed via terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) from the Halemaʻumaʻu crater rim. These data were collected...
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The Hawaiian Islands have an extremely diverse number of plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. Changes brought about by the arrival of humans and the introduction of non-native predators, weeds, and diseases has led to the extinction of hundreds of Hawaiian species – far more than any other U.S. state. To help the State of Hawaiʻi prevent additional species from becoming extinct and to restore at-risk species to secure population sizes, the State, along with federal, private, and scientific partners, is currently developing and implementing a comprehensive conservation plan to protect and manage over 300 declining and endangered native plants and animals on the islands of Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi. This...
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Infrastructure layer of sewage pumps in Palau (from PALARIS) with elevation data (from USGS 10-m DEM)
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To examine Palau residents’ reliance on reef fish, we reviewed published peer-reviewed literature, non-governmental organizations’ surveys, and unpublished data from a survey conducted by this project’s team. Volume of reef fish caught, consumed, and bartered at periurban, urban, and rural states was compared to the area of reefs within state waters to calculate fishing pressure. Data on fish residential consumption was triangulated and synthesized across data sources, including PIs Oleson and Lewis’ unpublished data from a resident survey conducted in 2018, an SPC dataset of fisher households conducted in 2018, and peer-reviewed literature.
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This database is a compilation of marine mammal and seabird information collected along the Pacific coast of the United States and U.S. territories in the Pacific from surveys that were solicited among regional research communities and persons. Information from standardized surveys was gathered from 2015 to 2018 and includes programs and researchers who collected information regarding seabirds since 1960. These data support the following publication: Adams, J., Lafferty, K.D., Kelsey, E.C., and Johnston, C.A. 2019. Synopsis of Research Programs that can Provide Baseline and Monitoring Information for Offshore Energy Activities in the Pacific Region: Seabird and Marine Mammal Surveys in the Pacific Region. U.S....
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Over the past century, Hawaiʻi has experienced a pronounced decline in precipitation and stream flow and a number of severe droughts. These changes can have wide-reaching implications, affecting the water supply, native vegetation and wildlife, wildfire patterns, and the spread of invasive species. Several climate-related factors are influencing Hawaiˈi’s landscapes and contributing to these changes. These include climate change, climate variability, and drought (referred to collectively as CCVD). Climate variability describes how the climate fluctuates on a yearly basis around average values, while climate change describes patterns of long-term continuous change in the average. While it is understood that CCVD...
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With an average elevation of just seven feet above sea level, the Republic of the Marshall Islands is acutely vulnerable to inundation from both episodic events such as storm surge and chronic conditions such as sea-level rise. Some projections estimate that future sea-level rise could exceed the average elevation of these islands by 2100. Already, residents are facing extreme high tides and 16 foot swells that flood the islands with saltwater, damaging homes and infrastructure and contaminating the freshwater supply. Land elevation is the primary factor that determines the vulnerability of coastal areas to inundation. This project builds on previous work in which a 1-meter resolution digital elevation model (DEM)...
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Freshwater is a critical driver for island ecosystems and essential part of the water cycle in tropical islands, which is threaten by climate change. Changes in streamflow patterns may impact streams, estuarine, and coastal habitats. In Hawai‘i, these habitats support five native stream fish species. To examine how changes in streamflow have impacted habitat quality for these native aquatic species, an ongoing project has been examining statewide long-term stream records. This study will examine historical extreme weather patterns, including flood and drought, to describe the characteristics and flow patterns of stream habitats in Hawaiʻi. This information will then be associated with observed fish populations...
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Coral reefs provide numerous ecosystem goods and services critical to human well-being (e.g., protection from storms and floods, food, income, recreation, and cultural practices), but they are threatened by growing human pressures and climate change. Resource managers must make complex decisions when developing adaptation plans that are cost-effective and maintain coral reef functions while still allowing for human use and development. Through this project, scientists developed a decision-support tool for managers to (1) identify the areas that provide the most critical coral reef services (i.e., supply the most value to humans) as well as the areas of reef most threatened, and (2) compare the effects of reef management...
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This dataset provides high-resolution, species-specific land cover maps for the Hawaiian island of Lāna'i based on 2020 WorldView-2 satellite imagery. Machine learning models were trained on extensive ground control polygons and points. The land cover maps capture the distribution and diversity of vegetation with high accuracy to support conservation planning and monitoring. This data release consists of two child items, one containing the field and expert collected ground control data used to train our models, and another consisting of resulting land cover maps for the island of Lāna‘i. The research effort that generated these input data, and products are carefully described in the associated manuscript Berio Fortini...
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This shapefile represents the spatial distribution of mean annual water-budget components, in inches, for the Island of Oahu, Hawaii. The water-budget components in the shapefile were computed by a water-budget model for a scenario representative of predevelopment conditions (1978–2007 rainfall and 1870 land cover), as described in USGS Scientific Investigations Report (USGS SIR) 2015-5164. The model was developed for estimating groundwater recharge and other water-budget components for each subarea of the model. The model-subarea dataset, consisting of 441,315 subareas (polygons), was generated using Esri ArcGIS software by intersecting (merging) multiple spatial datasets. Spatial datasets merged include those...
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This shapefile represents the spatial distribution of mean annual water-budget components, in inches, for the Island of Kauai, Hawaii. The water-budget components in the shapefile were computed by a water-budget model for a scenario representative of recent conditions (1978–2007 rainfall and 2010 land cover), as described in USGS Scientific Investigations Report (SIR) 2015-5164. The model was developed for estimating groundwater recharge and other water-budget components for each subarea of the model. The model-subarea data set, consisting of 400,714 subareas (polygons), was generated using Esri ArcGIS software by intersecting (merging) multiple spatial data sets. Spatial datasets merged include those that characterize...
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As elevation increases, both temperature and moisture availability decrease. In many parts of the world, this decrease in temperature is a limiting factor for vegetation—at certain elevations, the temperature becomes too cold for plants to survive. However in the tropics, moisture availability may play a more important role than temperature in determining the altitude at which forests can grow. For example on Haleakalā, a volcano on the Hawaiian Island of Mauʻi, the forest line is not found at the same elevation everywhere, as you would expect if it were controlled by temperature. Rather, the forest line is highest in the wetter eastern-most end and lower on the drier, western end of the volcano. Research also...
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Points where surface water collects and enters coastal waters
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This data set consists of ground control points used for independent pixel-level model validation (ground_control_points.gpkg): This dataset consists of 295 points distributed across the 15 vegetation classes on the island of Lāna‘i. The points were randomly generated from the final species-specific land cover classification map and stratified by class to ensure representation across all classes. The dataset provides species-specific land cover labels for the points, with the spatial location corresponding to the pixel coordinate location on the 2m resolution land cover map. Comparing modeled class assignments to these expert-validated classes enables an independent accuracy assessment supplemental to the polygon-based...
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While home to many people and a rich diversity of unique plant and animal life, the U.S. territories of Guam and American Samoa are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change because of their small size, geographical remoteness, and exposure to threats such as sea-level rise and increased storm surge. Developing predictions of future conditions is often the first step in helping decision makers and communities plan for change. However, to date, available global climate models have been too coarse in resolution to be useful for planning in the context of small, isolated islands. This project produced the first-ever set of high-resolution climate projections for Guam and American Samoa, providing information...
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The Hawaiian Islands are home to some of the world’s most culturally valuable but imperiled forest birds, including brightly colored native honeycreepers, many of which are threatened or endangered. One of the major threats these birds face is avian malaria, which is spread by a species of introduced mosquito and can have death rates exceeding 90 percent. For decades, upper mountain forests have provided refuge for Hawaiian forest birds because mosquitoes (and thus the disease) could not survive the cooler temperatures. However, warming associated with climate change could change this. Scientists used climate data and an epidemiological model to evaluate the future impacts of avian malaria on Hawaiian forest birds...
map background search result map search result map 21st Century High-Resolution Climate Projections for Guam and American Samoa Vulnerability of Hawaiian Forest Birds to Climate Change Valuing Climate Change Impacts on Coral Reef Ecosystem Services Modeling the Response of Hawaiʻi’s Streams to Future Rainfall Conditions Measurement of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-related Climate Conditions and Ecosystem Responses in Hawaiʻi Assessing the Sustainability of Culturally Important Marine Sites in Guam and CNMI Influences of Climate Change, Climate Variability, and Drought on Human Communities and Ecosystems in Hawaiʻi Simulating and Projecting Future Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Majuro Atoll Mean annual water-budget components for the Island of Oahu, Hawaii, for predevelopment conditions, 1978-2007 rainfall and 1870 land cover (ver. 2.0) Mean annual water-budget components for the Island of Kauai, Hawaii, for recent conditions, 1978-2007 rainfall and 2010 land cover (ver. 2.0) Database of Marine Mammal and Seabird Research Activity in the Pacific (US) Characterizing Inundation Risk for Majuro Atoll Field Surveys for Vanishing Species: Closing Data Gaps to Understand Climate Change Impacts on Hawaiian Land Snails and Preserve Biodiversity Filling the Knowledge Gaps: Extreme Weather Driven Changes in Streamflow Patterns and their Impacts on Fish in Hawaiian Streams Compiled Resident Survey Data on Fish Consumption Habits Coastal outflow points in Babeldaob, Palau Sewage pumps potentially impacted by sea level rise in Babeldaob, Palau 2023 (updated 2023-10-24) Lāna‘i Landcover Maps High-Resolution Land Cover Maps of Lāna‘i, Hawai‘i, 2020 - Ground Control Points Sewage pumps potentially impacted by sea level rise in Babeldaob, Palau 2023 (updated 2023-10-24) Lāna‘i Landcover Maps High-Resolution Land Cover Maps of Lāna‘i, Hawai‘i, 2020 - Ground Control Points Compiled Resident Survey Data on Fish Consumption Habits Coastal outflow points in Babeldaob, Palau Vulnerability of Hawaiian Forest Birds to Climate Change Simulating and Projecting Future Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Majuro Atoll Characterizing Inundation Risk for Majuro Atoll Mean annual water-budget components for the Island of Kauai, Hawaii, for recent conditions, 1978-2007 rainfall and 2010 land cover (ver. 2.0) Mean annual water-budget components for the Island of Oahu, Hawaii, for predevelopment conditions, 1978-2007 rainfall and 1870 land cover (ver. 2.0) Assessing the Sustainability of Culturally Important Marine Sites in Guam and CNMI Influences of Climate Change, Climate Variability, and Drought on Human Communities and Ecosystems in Hawaiʻi Modeling the Response of Hawaiʻi’s Streams to Future Rainfall Conditions Field Surveys for Vanishing Species: Closing Data Gaps to Understand Climate Change Impacts on Hawaiian Land Snails and Preserve Biodiversity 21st Century High-Resolution Climate Projections for Guam and American Samoa Filling the Knowledge Gaps: Extreme Weather Driven Changes in Streamflow Patterns and their Impacts on Fish in Hawaiian Streams Database of Marine Mammal and Seabird Research Activity in the Pacific (US)