Research

Students work on a net zero energy initiative for the UH Manoa campus
Student research assistants study energy consumption patterns of the UH Manoa Campus Sea Grant has teamed up with the UH Office of Sustainability to manage a vast quantity of electricity metering data while also training and educating students. Students have ...

Sea Grant awards $8.1 million to strengthen community resilience nationwide
Sea Grant awards $8.1 million to strengthen community resilience nationwide February 2, 2023 (Honolulu, HI) – To build on Sea Grant’s nationwide initiatives to improve coastal community resilience, NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program recently announced two complementary initiatives ...

Envisioning Sea Level Rise Adaptation Strategies in Waikīkī
Waikīkī is the economic hub of Hawai‘i’s tourism industry and is threatened by flooding from sea level rise, king tides, high wave events, rainfall and storm drain backflow, groundwater inundation, and overflow of the Ala Wai canal. This research merges ...

Hawai‘i Cesspool Hazard Assessment & Prioritization Tool
Hawai‘i Cesspool Prioritization Tool The Hawai‘i Cesspool Prioritization Tool (HCPT) is a map-based tool that displays the prioritization level for each of Hawai‘i's 83,000+ cesspools. Per Act 125 Session Laws of Hawai‘i (2017), all cesspool owners are required to upgrade, ...

Sneaking up on mud
by Becca Lensing In between mud sample collections, Uncle Clay Ching, of Hallelujah Hou fishing on Molokaʻi, gave us a crash course on throw net fishing on one of the largest fringing reef flats in the world. He taught us ...

Bacteroides: The clingy bacteria that mammals just can’t shake
by Nicolas VanderzylEvery parent knows the feeling: sneaking away to the restroom, yearning for a few minutes to yourself, only to be interrupted in seconds by light knocks and fifty questions. But alas, even if you aren’t a parent, you ...

Treating climate anxiety with action
by Devynn Wulstein (she/her)Imagine flipping to the back synopsis of a random book in the bookstore and reading this: "The year is 2021. A pandemic has swept across the globe, leaving a tidal wave of scientific denial, and fueling greater ...

Feed me! How examining larval diets could be a game-changer for aquaculture
by Cassie Kaʻapu-LyonsNext time you visit your local pet store, take a look at the fishes. Many of the freshwater fishes available to you have been bred and raised in captivity, but most marine fishes have been harvested from the ...

In the zone: How salinity research can aid native Hawaiian plants
by Anna H McCormickThe islands of Hawaiʻi are approximately 2,000 miles from the nearest continental landmass, making them some of the most isolated islands in the world. There are approximately 1,400 plant taxa that are considered native, with 90 percent ...

Must like long walks on the beach
Must like long walks on the beach by Marcus PengA day of surveying starts with arriving in Waikīkī early in the morning. As I sit down at the Starbucks Reserve store with a coffee, I start to plan out the ...