Kalae is contributing to a project investigating the geo-ecological resilience and recovery of ‘Ewaʻewa (Tern Island), a human-modified atoll in the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary. Using sediment samples collected in 2021, they will construct a time series to evaluate changes in island composition and marine ecosystems after major disturbances, WWII modifications, and Hurricane Walaka of 2018. Similar data from nearby, unmodified, East Island over the same time period will help determine whether island modification impacts atoll resilience, possibly informing on future disturbance events and long-term sea-level rise.