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ScholarSpace is an open-access, digital institutional repository for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa community. ScholarSpace stores the intellectual works and unique collections of the UH at Mānoa academic community and also provides a permanent web location for those accessing these resources.

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Ola I Ka Wai - The Barriers of Implementing a One Water Approach on O'ahu
(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2022) Thelle, Jakob; Milz, Dan; Oceanography; Global Environmental Science
The Hawaiian Islands are on course for a water crisis. Currently, water supplies face challenges deriving from overconsumption of water and a growing world population increasing the demand. Furthermore, climate change causes detrimental impacts to water resources by reducing water quality and quantity, urging planning efforts to integrate climate science within water management practices. In 2020, the City and County of Honolulu stated their intention to adopt a One Water (OW) approach, which aims to manage water resources in Hawai'i in a holistic and collaborative way. Through this research, we will identify the barriers of implementing the OW framework on O'ahu to encourage strategies in effectively integrating the framework to O'ahu's water management practices. The research follows a qualitative research design collecting data through conducting interviews with key stakeholders and professionals in the field of water resources management. We found the main barriers posing the implementation of the One Water framework to be; (1) siloed systems (2) funding and budget constraints, (3) political and social-buy in, and (4) socio-cultural understanding. Strategic action to overcome the addressed barriers will be key towards effectively implementing a One Water approach in the process of preserving Hawai'i's waters for the benefit of the people.
The Use of Groundwater Geochemistry to Prospect for Blind Geothermal Resources in the State of Hawaii
(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2018) Dudoit, Tineill; Lautze, Nicole; Oceanography; Global Environmental Science
The principle goal of this study was centralized on the use of groundwater geochemistry to prospect for blind geothermal resources throughout the State of Hawaii by the collection of water samples, analysis of water geochemistry data, and highlighting of wells that contained chemical signatures indicative of elevated subsurface heat. Water samples were collected in ten locations across the State of Hawaii that were identified as areas of potential geothermal resource in a recent geothermal prospect assessment, and analyzed for temperature, major and minor chemical species, and trace metals. A total of 61 samples were collected: 60 from existing wells and 1 spring was sampled in an area where no wells exist. The aqueous geothermal indicators: silica concentration, chloride/magnesium, sulphate/chloride, and temperature, were chosen because of the relative success as geochemical indicators in Hawaii. Additionally, thresholds were determined, based on compiled historical data and research, as chemical signatures that could signify subsurface heat under Hawaii conditions. As a result, various anomalies were detected on four islands within the State of Hawaii based on the criteria set within the project as potential indications of subsurface heat, and a potential geothermal source was identified on the Island of Lanai. However, positive indications of a subsurface heat anomaly based on this assessment could have an alternative non-thermal explanation. Given that these aqueous geochemical indicators can be affected by both natural and anthropogenic processes, further investigation is necessary. Furthermore, data collected could assist the Hawaiʻi State Legislature to address the state’s growing energy demands through the identification, exploration, and use of available geothermal sources. The subsequent report provides the latest comprehensive water geochemistry data that may be used as a geothermal exploration tool for the State of Hawaiʻi.
Glutamate-Cysteine Ligase Modifier Subunit as a Possible Modulating Factor in Methylmercury-Inducedn Developmental Toxicity
(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2004) White, Sally; Berry, Marla; Schoonmaker, Jane; Oceanography; Global Environmental Science
The US EPA recently released a fish-consumption advisory, recommending that pregnant mothers reduce their intake of certain fish. Concentrations of methylmercury (MeHg) in commonly consumed fish have raised concern for the health of women of childbearing age and their developing children. Previous experiments have implicated glutathione (GSH), an endogenous, tri-peptide antioxidant, as an ameliorative factor in MeHg toxicity. GSH biosynthesis is rate-limited by glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCL), a heterodimeric enzyme consisting of a catalytic and a modifier subunit (GCLC and GCLM, respectively). To examine the roles of GCLM and GSH synthesis in MeHg- induced developmental toxicity, experiments were conducted employing Gclm knockout and hemizygous mice. Eight breeding pairs were established and on gestational day 14, females were inoculated with MeHg or sesame oil vehicle. The animals were sacrificed on gestational day 17, with dissection of the embryos, placenta, and yolk sacs, and maternal brain, liver, and kidney. The genotype of each embryo was determined and tissues were assayed for Gclm transcription and GCLM protein expression. While the scale of this experiment was found to be insufficient for definitive assessment of the roles of GCLM and GSH biosynthesis in MeHg toxicity, the work described here may provide pilot data for the design of future experiments. Additional results from such experiments should provide a better understanding of the fundamental processes involved in MeHg-induced developmental toxicity, and suggest public health strategies for protecting developing children from such injury.
Impact of Sea Level Rise on Aging Population's Accessibility to Essential Services in Honolulu, Hawai'i
(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2022) Liu, Dingyi; Shen, Suwan; Oceanography; Global Environmental Science
Demographic studies have shown two trends: (1) elderly population is growing as a consequence of longer life expectancy; (2) population in low elevation coastal zones will significantly increase. One of the potential risks of living in low elevation coastal zones is the projected sea level rise. As sea level rises, more and more frequent flooding can cause disruptions and damage to the roadways in coastal areas. Seniors could be especially vulnerable to such disruptions given their need for emergency services, which could also increase because of the adverse impacts climate change has on health. This study aims to investigate the impacts of sea-level rise on the aging population’s accessibility to essential services and its implication for long term adaptation planning using Honolulu, Hawai’i as a case study. Using Cohort Change Ratio (CCR), the study projects the elderly population in each Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZs) in future decades. Road segments and essential facilities (grocery stores, police stations, fire stations, and hospitals and clinics) at risk under different sea-level rise scenarios (1.1 feet, 2.0 feet, and 3.2 feet) are identified. Network connectivity from each TAZs to nearest essential services are analyzed. The results show that while the physical impacts on infrastructures are mild, some vulnerable communities’ access to essential services will be greatly affected even under 1.1 feet sea-level rise scenarios. Especially some areas with a high projected density of the elderly population will be cut off to essential services due to transportation bottlenecks. For the rest of the population, sea level rise could significantly reduce the number of people with timely access to essential services. The results not only urge transportation network planners to take actions to make sure transportation connectivity to vulnerable elder population at-risk are protected, but also suggest that over the long-term land use planning would be one of a key factors to adapt to climate change. These findings have broad implications for other coastal locations with similar development and growth patterns, and the methodology used could be easily adapted to be used in a variety of other metropolitan areas across the country to conduct similar vulnerability analyses to aid in adaptation planning in practice. Also, audience will learn the emergent needs of sea level rise adaptation planning.
Extreme Sea Levels in Guam: Incorporation of Wave-Driven Setup and Runup into the Analysis of Fluctuations in Extreme High Waters at the Ipan Reef
(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2012) Yasui, Sarah; Merrifield, Mark; Oceanography; Global Environmental Science
Changes in mean sea levels influence the coast by aﬀecting the height and frequency of extreme high waters. Tide-gauge records are often used to study fluctuations in the timing and severity of extreme sea levels because these records are relatively long and accessible. However, there are two main limitations to analyzing sea-level extremes using tide-gauge observations: 1) Tide gauges are often protected from wave energy, and therefore do not account for the elevation of water levels due to setup, and 2) instruments with sampling frequencies of several minutes to an hour may not correctly identify the most extreme sea level. Here it is found that sea-level extremes documented by tide gauges at Pago Bay and Apra Harbor, located in eastern and western Guam, respectively, diﬀer significantly in height when the observations are evaluated alongside a high-frequency (1 Hz) sea-level record from Ipan that has been modified to include the influences of setup and extreme runup. The disparity between water levels with and without wave eﬀects is especially pronounced (as high as 1.5 m) during large wave events (>2 m). Extreme high waters appear to be correlated to a surge in southwesterly monsoon winds in Apra Harbor and the passage of tropical cyclones close to (<370 km) the island in Pago Bay and Ipan. The sea-level response to the passage of a tropical cyclone over Guam does not appear to be correlated to storm intensity or proximity.
Critical Review of Utilizing Constructed Wetlands to Sustainably Treat Petroleum Industry Wastewater
(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2018) Kelly, William; Cooney, Michael; Oceanography; Global Environmental Science
Current practices regarding the treatment of petroleum industry wastewater rely on high energy consumption and the effluent maintains high nutrient levels. Post treatment, the high nutrient wastewater is discharged into local waterways and can lead to eutrophication in surrounding waters, thereby making the treatment process an environmentally, socially and economically damaging process. Both the high energy demand and elevated nutrient levels in the effluent are reasons to explore new methods to sustainably treat the petroleum industries wastewater. While the majority of industry uses the high energy process, some utilize constructed wetlands. A constructed wetland is a low energy treatment process that produces effluent with very low nutrient levels. In this study, a sustainability analysis of the two treatment processes showed the constructed wetland to be more sustainable. The analysis weighed metrics to fully understand the complete environmental, social and economic impacts of each process. The constructed wetland proved most sustainable in the economic and social categories, due to low associated costs and contributing to Hawai’i’s sustainability initiative. Relatively closer scores in the environmental category showed both were efficient in hazardous component removal but lacking in nutrient reduction. The low energy demand and low waste produced by the constructed wetland were responsible for showing improved sustainability in the environmental category.
Temporal and Spatial Variability of Nitrifying Archaea in the Pacific Ocean
(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2010) Wai, Brenner; Church, Matthew; Oceanography; Global Environmental Science
Crenarchaea are putative ammonia oxidizers in the marine environment. The nitrifying role that these microorganisms play is an integral component of the marine nitrogen (N) cycle. Here we present two separate, but very similar studies to assess both the temporal and spatial dynamics of ammonia oxidizing Crenarchaea. One study looked at the seasonal variability in the abundances and distributions of ammonia oxidizing Crenarchaea over a four-year time scale at the same location in the North Pacific Ocean (Station ALOHA). We found total crenarchaeal gene abundances typically increased three to four orders of magnitude between the near-surface (~5m) ocean and the epi- mesopelagic boundary (200 m), decreasing about an order of magnitude throughout the rest of the mesopelagic zone, and staying relatively constant in the bathypelagic water. Annual occurrences of 10,000 fold increases in crenarchaeal abundances in near-surface waters appeared linked to winter mixing, while during summer months, a predominately upper ocean dwelling Crenarchaea increased in abundance in upper mesopelagic waters coincident with periods of increased particulate nitrogen flux to the deep sea. Our other study examined meridional distributions of crenarchaeal ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) genes and transcripts across a vast (~5200 km) region of the central Pacific Ocean. Throughout the transect, crenarchaeal amoA genes showed a nearly identical depth-dependent distribution when compared to estimates at Station ALOHA. Crenarchaeal amoA transcripts typically increased one to two orders of magnitude between 100 m and the epi- mesopelagic boundary (200 m), before decreasing throughout the mesopelagic zone. When normalized to gene abundances, amoA transcripts revealed elevated expression in the upper ocean waters (0-100m), where crenarchaeal abundances were low and transcript abundances decreased throughout the mesopelagic zone as crenarchaeal gene abundances increased. Both studies suggest that throughout the entire water column, ammonia oxidizing Crenarchaea are dynamic contributors to the marine nitrogen cycle in the Pacific Ocean.
Assessment of the Wind Resource at the Grace Pacific Quarry Site in Kapolei, Oahu
(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2013) Tu, Jiayu; Businger, Steven; Oceanography; Global Environmental Science
The goal of this research project is to determine the feasibility of building a wind farm at Grace Pacific Quarry (GPQ) in Kapolei. This location was chosen because wind maps for Oahu suggest that the location of GPQ has a sufficient wind resource for a wind farm. Meteorological data from Grace Pacific Wind Towers were used to analyze the quality of the wind resource at GPQ. The people who work at First Wind in Hawaii were interviewed, and the wind resource at their wind farms was compared with that at GPQ. Finally, the thesis discusses local and political considerations and environmental impact studies needed to assess the feasibility of constructing a wind farm in Hawaii.
Updating Historical Shoreline Change Rates of North Kā'anapali, Honokōwai, and Kahana, West Maui
(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2019) Tran, Cuong; Fletcher, Charles; Oceanography; Global Environmental Science
Tracking shoreline movement across the main Hawaiian Islands provides empirical data to assist in the development of better coastal management practices. We, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Coastal Geology Group, use empirical data to calculate shoreline change rates on the islands of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Maui. In this study, 2015 raw satellite imagery, provided by World View 3, was used to update the historical shoreline database of North Kāʻanapali, Honokōwai, and Kahana, West Maui. We calculated 2015 shoreline change rates and analyzed differences compared to an earlier database in 2007. The satellite imagery we used was orthorectified using ArcGIS and PCI Geomatica Inc., the low water mark and coastal vegetation line were digitized, and shoreline position locations were measured from transects spaced 20 meters alongshore. These locations were modeled using linear regression to identify long-term rates of change at each transect. Including the 2015 shoreline, the data revealed that 77% of all transects were erosional, compared to 73% in 2007. With regard to beach loss, the 2007 dataset experienced a loss of 80 meters whereas the 2015 dataset showed a loss of 920 meters. The expansion of eroding shoreline over the period 2007 to 2015 is consistent with the expected influence of rising sea level and continued coastal hardening. However, a full analysis that would have identified whether the changes were due to short-term variability or a valid statistical trend was not conducted.
Beach Loss, Seawall Construction, and Land-Use Patterns at Odds with Coastal Zone Policy - East O'ahu, Hawai'I 1928-2015
(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2017) Summers, Alisha; Fletcher, Charles; Oceanography; Global Environmental Science
Protecting and preserving beaches is critically important to the economy, ecosystem, culture, and lifestyle of the Hawaiian Islands. However, within the last century, beaches on Oʻahu have narrowed and are increasingly vanishing altogether. In response to federal incentives, a desire to better manage population growth and development along the shoreline, a need to protest coastal resources, and locally significant erosion problems, the State of Hawaiʻi enacted a Coastal Zone Management (CZM) program in 1977 as part of the policy framework created under the U.S. Congress’ Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. Under the Hawaii Costal Zone Management program (HCZMP), the State has delegated the authority to regulate shorelines to the Counties. Over the intervening decades, the four counties have adopted different types of construction setback laws: Maui and Kauaʻi have erosion rate-based setbacks, and Hawaiʻi and the City & County of Honolulu (C&C) use a fixed distance of 20-60 feet depending on specific parcel conditions. The stated purpose of C&C setback policy is primarily for preservation and protection of the natural shoreline, public access, and open space. Maintaining wide healthy beaches are critical to achieving all three of these goals. Despite this, across O’ahu, structures continue to be built close to the shoreline, seawalls continue to be constructed, and beaches continue to disappear. We present data from the east-facing shores of Oʻahu between 1928 to 2015 that document changing shoreline positions and beach widths concurrent with expanding coastal development that is at odds with the goals of presiding coastal policy. Over the study timeframe of 1928 to 2015 seawall and revetment construction increased by 54%, concurrent to net shoreline change shifting from quasi-stable to erosional along 74% of the coast. Before the enactment of CZM policy in 1975, the shoreline was quasi-stable with headland regions eroding at an average change rate of -0.05 ± 0.09 m/yr and embayed regions accreting at an average rate of 0.14 ± 0.05 m/yr. Following 1975, the average headland and embayed region shoreline change rate became erosional at -0.08 ± 0.06 m/yr and -0.21 ± 0.09 m/yr, respectively. We reveal that historical seawall and revetment construction to protect eroding lands has caused a narrowing and loss of beach from 1928 to 2015 even while both the Hawai’i CZM program and C&C policy have been in force with laws specifically designed to protect the coastline, ensure open space, and enhance public access.