August 27, 2020 — To better understand climate impacts on pelagic and coastal fisheries in Hawaiʻi, the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) Ocean Modeling Group was awarded $510,000 in grant funding by NOAA’s Climate Program Office.
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. Modeling results will be made available through PacIOOS, based at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST).
In the southern portion of the subtropical gyre, Hawaiʻi marine ecosystems are impacted by waters from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre as well as the western Pacific—creating a distinct regime for ocean life to thrive. Climate change will alter planetary circulation, resulting in potentially longer and more intense marine heat waves in the Pacific and potentially stronger El Niño impacts.