Final Report: Assessing the Impact of Future Climate on Hawai‘i’s Aquatic Ecosystems

Streams are like the blood vessels of the body weaving through the lands, collecting and delivering essential resources from land to the ocean. Flowing water, on its way to the ocean, becomes a corridor for the movement of organisms that connect and sustain ecosystems from mountain ridges to the sea. Looking into the long term records of streamflow, this project found that the majority of streamflow in Hawai‘i is decreasing resulting in drier conditions. When applying the projected changes in climate, the simulated streamflow outputs indicated likely increases in the frequency and duration of no-flow conditions in Hawaiian streams. Both long-term trends and simulated future streamflows indicate the impact drier...

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Shifting magnitude and timing of streamflow extremes and the relationship with rainfall across the Hawaiian Islands

Abstract (from Journal of Hydrology): Flooding is a significant threat to life and property in Hawaiʻi. As climate warming continues to alter precipitation patterns and hydrological processes in the tropics, characterizing the shifting patterns in magnitude, seasonality, and location of floods would improve our understanding of the consequences and better prepare us for future flood events. In this study, 84 rain gauges and 111 crest gauges across five major Hawaiian Islands were analyzed from 1970 to 2005. We estimated trends in the annual maximum daily rainfall (RFmax) and the annual peak flow (PFmax) using the Mann-Kendall test and Senʻs slope. Subsequently, we examined the association between PFmax and rainfall....

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Characterizing mauka-to-makai connections for aquatic ecosystem conservation on Maui, Hawaiʻi

Abstract (from Ecological Informatics): Mauka-to-makai (mountain to sea in the Hawaiian language) hydrologic connectivity – commonly referred to as ridge-to-reef – directly affects biogeochemical processes and socioecological functions across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems. The supply of freshwater to estuarine and nearshore environments in a ridge-to-reef system supports the food, water, and habitats utilized by marine fauna. In addition, the ecosystem services derived from this land-to-sea connectivity support social and cultural practices (hereafter referred to as socio-cultural) including fishing, aquaculture, wetland agriculture, religious ceremonies, and recreational activities. To effectively...

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