Global Environmental Science Theses
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The Bachelor of Science Degree Program in Global Environmental Science (GES) is administered by the department of Oceanography in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology of the University of Hawai‘i.
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Item Investigating the Impact of Land Use Composition on Water Quality of the Ala Wai Watershed(2024) Loo, Zachary F.; Amato, Daniel; Potemra, JamesAbstract Polluted water is a significant source of waterborne disease, specifically in urban areas where land use composition and runoff can drastically change water quality. This study investigates the relationship between land-use and water quality in the Ala Wai watershed of Honolulu, HI, focusing on the Mānoa stream during a heavy rainfall event in May 2024. Water quality parameters such as Enterococcus concentrations and turbidity were sampled from Mānoa Valley down through the Ala Wai Canal and out into coastal marine waters. Our analysis shows that during heavy rain events, water quality worsens in urban areas of Oʻahu with ANOVA results showing statistically significant results (p = 0.00139). Further, a post hoc Tukey test identified two statistically different groups, sites in dense, urban Honolulu (a), and sites furthest in Mānoa Valley less affected by urbanization (b). Poor water quality was most common around the McCully area along the Ala Wai Canal, taking approximately five days to return to baseline levels, two days after rain stopped. These findings highlight potential impacts of urban land-use on water quality and suggest that further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to support these trends in Hawaiʻi.Item Sea Level Rise Exposure of Cultural Sites in Koʻolaupoko(2024) Blichfeldt, Sarah Brooke K.; Fletcher, CharlesThis study assesses the exposure of Hawaiian cultural sites in the Koʻolaupoko region of Oʻahu to Sea Level Rise (SLR). Koʻolaupoko is home to numerous culturally significant sites and storied places (Wahi Pana), including but not limited to heiau, fishponds, paddling hālau, fishing shrines, loʻi kalo, pōhaku, and iwi kūpuna, many of which are situated along the coastline. Using a newly created Hawaiian Cultural Site layer, SLR exposure models from the Climate Resilience Collaborative, and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, the exposure of selected sites was mapped at each predicted foot of sea level rise from 1-4 ft (2020-2100). The analysis indicates that a significant number of these Wahi Pana are located within areas projected to experience chronic flooding, erosion, and increased wave action. The results suggest that at 4 ft of SLR, more than half of the identified cultural sites may be at risk of inundation, and exposure to Wahi Pana at just 1 ft SLR. This research highlights the need for adaptive strategies that integrate cultural preservation with coastal management, ensuring that these important sites are protected for future generations. Additionally, collaboration with local communities and cultural practitioners is essential for developing resilient and culturally sensitive adaptation plans.Item Changes in above-ground carbon storage with non-native forest to multi-strata agroforest transitions in Heʻeia, Oʻahu(2024-08-09) Donlon, Hugh S.; Ticktin, Tamara; Bremer, LeahAs a result of land-use change and the intentional and non-intentional spread of invasive species, approximately 40% of Hawaiʻiʻs forests are dominated by non-native species, particularly in low elevations. One land restoration strategy with the potential to restore biodiversity and ecosystem services is agroforestry, which was practiced widely across Hawaiʻi prior to European contact. Agroforestry, which combines trees and crops, also offers the potential to sequester and store carbon, with implications for Hawaiʻi’s carbon neutrality goals. However, in these non-natives to agroforestry transitions, there is a need to understand how carbon storage changes and is recuperated through time, from clearing of non-native trees to the growth of intentionally planted and cultivated species. Therefore, to gain an understanding of how carbon storage changes over time, this project compares baseline above-ground carbon measurements in trees, coarse woody debris, and litter in a non-native forest prior to agroforestry restoration and a young five year-old agroforest in Heʻeia, Oʻahu. The Puʻulani Agroforest is a young agroforestry site at Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi, Heʻeia, Oʻahu, where a mix of native, canoe, and food trees and other plants are the focus of the restoration. Carbon measurements were taken using above ground methods with the baseline data from 2018 and the five year updated data in 2023. The measurements were made by collecting and weighing the leaf litter samples, while using allometric equations to determine carbon in trees. Allometric equations use the diameter at breast height, (DBH) and wood density to estimate biomass and carbon content. The control plot serves as the invasive forest using the same methods. It was found that plants in 2023 are too young to contribute significant amounts of carbon when compared to the 2018 data. However, the data shows promising results for the use of canoe plants along with Koa in restoration projects.Item Managed Retreat as a Strategy to Mitigate Sea Level Rise Impacts in Hawaiʻi(2024) Agcaoili, Kari Angela; Fletcher, CharlesAbstract Sea levels are projected to rise and remain elevated for centuries to millennia, even with efforts to mitigate carbon emissions. The foremost impacts of rising sea levels are felt by low-lying coastal communities. Coastal erosion, among these impacts, is already significant, particularly affecting Hawaiian beaches. Strategies like protective and accommodative measures are employed to counteract the effects of sea level rise, yet they may prove inadequate and could exacerbate beach loss. Research by Summers et al. (2018) indicated that erosion had claimed 19% of Hawaiʻi’s beaches by 2015. In order for a beach to survive, it must be able to migrate landward unimpeded. The State of Hawaiʻi bears a constitutional responsibility to preserve its natural resources, including beaches, for current and future generations. However, state and local government policies have placed more effort on asset management rather than beach protection and preservation in response to sea level rise; consequently, failing in their constitutional duty to preserve Hawaiʻi’s beaches. Managed retreat is the strategic and purposeful relocation or abandonment of structures to manage the risk of natural hazards and utilize an avoidance strategy to eliminate risk. Successful implementation of managed retreat policies in Hawaiʻi could safeguard the public from hazards and facilitate natural beach replenishment through shoreline recession; and allow the State to fulfill their constitutional obligations.Item The Ocean’s Cobalt Cycle and its Correlations with other Metals(2024) Gonzales Briones, Stephanie E.; Hawco, Nicholas J.The metal cobalt is an essential nutrient for many important marine organisms, but its distribution across the oceans is not well known. When cobalt concentrations correlate with phosphate it is acting as a nutrient to marine organisms, but when it correlates with manganese it is normally an indication that there is a strong geological influence. Other metals such as manganese and phosphate are prominent elements in seawater compared to cobalt which is why they are used as proxies to cobalt (Zeng, 2019). Cobalt concentrations for over 100 samples from the TARA Oceans expedition were measured across the global ocean. The focus is on four regions: the North Pacific, South Pacific, West Pacific and the North Atlantic, which demonstrate how other elements can trace the cobalt cycle in the ocean. Cobalt exhibits similar behavior to phosphate in some regions and manganese in others. In the North-east Pacific region, Mexican and Central American coastal waters had a small correlation with manganese: cobalt concentration is higher when manganese is high. In the Southeast Pacific and South American coast, an increase in cobalt is detected when manganese is elevated. Cobalt concentrations from the Western Pacific region have not been reported previously. We observed increased cobalt concentrations off the coast of Australia, New Caledonia, and the coast of Papua New Guinea due to input from river systems from the land masses, as well as at the equator, to the upwelling of deep nutrient rich waters. Interestingly, Co and phosphate are correlated in the North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. In this paper cobalt is traced by two metals from different sources that can paint a picture of the metal’s cycle and influence. By correlating cobalt with these two metals that are more easily measured elements, we can broaden our understanding of the cobalt cycle and its sources.Item Natural Disaster Evacuation Policies and Recommendations for Elderly Assisted Living Facilities on Oahu(2007) O’Brian, Megan C.; Schoonmaker, Jane; Oceanography; Global Environmental ScienceItem Determining The Provenance And Conservation Needs Of Extralimital Six-Lined Racerunner (Aspidoscelis Sexlineata Lizards)(2023) Moon, Quinn; Thomson, Robert; Oceanography; Global Environmental ScienceItem Potential Threats To Water Quality At Sumida Farm Caused By Wastewater, Urbanization, And Climate Variability(2023) Malterre, Tehani; Dulai, Henrietta; Oceanography; Global Environmental ScienceItem Carbon Emissions Of The 2022 Leilani Wildfire In Waikōloa, Hawaiʻi(2023) Mantanona, Caleb; Saksena, Sumeet Sy, Angela; Oceanography; Global Environmental ScienceItem Context-Dependent Social Behavior In Gold Dust Day Geckos (Phelsuma Laticauda)(2023) Harding, Madelyne; Wright, Amber; Oceanography; Global Environmental Science