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PacIOOS Tools and Instruments
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| | Staff from MNMRC deploy the nearshore sensor in Maʻalaea Harbor. Credit: A. Hodges |
Monitoring Water Quality at Maʻalaea Harbor, Maui
As part of the PacIOOS Water Quality Sensor Partnership Program (WQSPP), the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council (MNMRC) deployed a nearshore sensor at Maʻalaea Harbor, Maui. The non-profit organization is interested to learn more about the effects of tides, wind, and swell on water quality in the harbor, and monitor water quality variability over time. The data will help inform the watershed management plan Vision for Pohakea, which aims to reduce sediment and pollutants in Maʻalaea Bay and its harbor. MNMRC is also partnering with the Waterkeepers Hawaiian Islands to utilize several thousand oysters in the harbor to help improve water quality. PacIOOS' nearshore sensor will be rotating to various locations within the harbor, collecting data on water temperature, salinity, turbidity, chlorophyll-a, and depth.
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20-Year Time Series from Mōkapu Wave Buoy
The PacIOOS wave buoy off Mōkapu on the windward side of Oʻahu celebrates its 20th anniversary! On August 9, 2000, the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) deployed the Mōkapu wave buoy as its first wave buoy in Hawaiian waters. Two decades later, this wave buoy site is still going strong and recording wave conditions every 30 minutes. Over the years, nine other wave buoys were added to the network in the Hawaiian Islands, and an additional five in the insular Pacific. All data for the Mōkapu wave buoy (and all other sites) can be accessed through the PacIOOS website or the Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP).
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| | PacIOOS wave buoy off the Pearl Harbor Entrance, Oʻahu. Credit: R. Kramer |
PacIOOS Wave Buoy Maintenance During COVID-19
In light of ongoing travel and quarantine restrictions, routine buoy maintenance within the Hawaiian Islands and the Pacific Islands region experiences delays. For that reason, wave buoys with lower battery levels were set to less frequent data transmissions to elongate the battery life. As soon as our team can access the buoys to swap out batteries, data transmission will be reset to the regular 30-minute intervals. This month, the PacIOOS wave buoy at the Pearl Harbor Entrance was swapped out. The Pearl Harbor wave buoy not only provides information on wave height, direction, and period, it also measures surface currents, and water temperature.
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| | How will changing environmental factors affect fish populations and associated ecosystems? |
$510K to Assess Future Climate Impacts on Hawaiʻi Fisheries
The PacIOOS Ocean Modeling Group under the supervision of Professor Brian Powell was awarded $510K in grant funding by NOAA's Climate Program Office to better understand climate impacts on pelagic and coastal fisheries in Hawaiʻi. A suite of projections will be developed to predict future changes through the end of the century in order to inform adaptive management strategies in the Pacific Islands region. Through a combination of various state-of-the-art numerical models, global climate projections will be downscaled for the Hawaiian Islands to assess how the physical and biogeochemical ocean environment might evolve. Environmental models will then be coupled with a size-based food web and ecosystem model to project how the changing environment can affect fish populations and the ecosystems they live in. The project will be conducted in close collaboration with NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), and modeling results from this 3-year project will be made available through PacIOOS. Find out more about the project.
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| | How valuable are PacIOOS data and tools to you? Please fill out our survey! Credit: D. Itano |
Action! Please Fill Out Short Survey on Economic Value of PacIOOS
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| | A group of five swimmers crossed the Kaulakahi Channel. Credit: B. Leong |
Kauaʻi to Niʻihau Channel Crossing
At the beginning of August, five swimmers from the Ala Moana Beach Swim Club completed a tandem crossing of the Kaulakahi Channel, from the island of Kauaʻi to Niʻihau. Within 11 hours 38 minutes, the team covered a distance of 27.3km. Tandem crossing means all swimmers swam the entire length as a group with shared resources (i.e., escort boat, paddlers). In preparation for the swim, the team diligently studied ocean conditions to better understand the channel environment. With the support of PacIOOS' Data Management Lead Dr. Jim Potemra, the group also included PacIOOS wind, current, and wave forecast data into their assessment. At the end, there is only so much "prep" work and planning that can be done. Despite stronger than expected currents, cross swells, and jellyfish encounters, the team mastered the channel and was rewarded with a whole slew of marine life, including a silky shark that peacefully swam with the group for about 8 hours. Read the full story of their swim!
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| | Shaun Wriston maintains one of the PacIOOS nearshore sensors on the South Shore of Oʻahu. Credit: G. Walker |
Analyzing PacIOOS Data for Final Thesis
Two undergraduate students from the Global Environmental Science Program at the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa utilized PacIOOS datasets for their final senior thesis.
Shaun Wriston analyzed a ~12-year time series from four PacIOOS nearshore sensors to identify changes in physical and biological water quality parameters across Māmala and Maunalua Bay, Oʻahu. The analysis revealed local increases in temperature, decreases in salinity, and increases in water depth over time. Local processes, such as trade winds, tidal activity, and rain events, as well as global climate processes were discussed.
Zoe Curley investigated why Crown of Thorns Starfish (COTS) outbreaks, which can have devastating impacts to coral reefs, occur in the waters around Guam. Towed diver surveys from NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center were correlated with environmental conditions such as tides and currents. Additionally, model outputs were incorporated, including data from PacIOOS' atmospheric, wave, and ocean circulation models. Zoe found that COTS outbreaks were site specific, occurring in different places for different reasons, such as extreme rainfall or low wave energy preceding an outbreak.
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| | The assessment identifies "resilience hubs", areas with the greatest potential for improved community and environmental resilience. |
Northern Mariana Islands Coastal Resilience Assessment
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, NOAA, and UNC Asheville's National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center released a coastal resilience assessment for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The assessment identifies large areas of natural, open space or habitat where, if investments are made in conservation or restoration, there is the greatest potential for both improved human community resilience and benefits to fish, wildlife, and their habitats. The "Resilience Hubs" are identified through the use of nationwide standardized datasets. The development of the assessment was supported by an advisory committee, consisting of numerous local resource management and federal agencies, as well as PacIOOS. Visit the interactive mapping platform CREST or download the report.
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Mahalo, Co-Captain Samantha!
Samantha DeVivo is a 2020 graduate of the Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Masters Professional Internship Track at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo (UH Hilo). With a focus on aquaculture, Samantha spent the majority of her time working at the Pacific Aquaculture Coastal Resource Center's (PACRC) aquaculture farm, supported the hatchery's bivalve nursery, and participated in community outreach and education. Originally from Pennsylvania, Samantha has a dual bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies and Marine Science from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.
Under the supervision of Steve Colbert, PacIOOS co-investigator and UH Hilo Department of Marine Science Chair and Associate Professor, Samantha helps maintain the PacIOOS Hilo and Pelekane water quality buoys. She also supports the maintenance of PacIOOS' real-time current measurements on Hawaiʻi Island. When on the water, she co-captains the UH Hilo vessel with the goal to obtain her boat captain license in the future. Samantha plans to return to the east coast and work in outreach and education to help share her love for conservation and science with the general public and the next generation of environmentalists.
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