Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology

The Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) is widely recognized for its contributions to marine biological studies in coral reef ecology, conservation biology, molecular evolution, aquaculture, biogeochemistry, bioacoustics and marine animal behavior, and physiology. Built on an island surrounded by coral reefs and close to deep ocean water, HIMB scientists are able to examine estuarine and coastal/pelagic processes that are important for global societies in the face of climate change and sea level rise.

Hawai‘i Ocean Time-series: The 250th Expedition

In March 2013, the Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT) program completed its 250th research expedition to its open ocean field site. After nearly 25 years of near-monthly sampling, the HOT program measurements serve as an important barometer of global change, providing unprecedented views on changes to the subtropical North Pacific Ocean. This program has been supported by research grants from the National Science Foundation. The video is the National Science Foundation’s Science 360 video of the day for 25 April 2013!

Click on the preview image or the title to view the video in a pop-up window (you may need to turn off pop-up blockers). Please visit our video page to see more SOEST videos.

Updates

• A new link to an article in The Garden Isle about Carl Meyer’s shark research was added to the archived news item “Are shark attacks on the rise?” on 05-23-13.

Model predicts abundance, distribution of Hawaiian corals

Researchers at the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) have developed species distribution models of the six dominant coral species around the main Hawaiian Islands, including two species currently under consideration as threatened or endangered. In general, coral cover was predicted to be highest in primarily wave-sheltered coastlines and embayments. “Average wave height and maximum wave height were the most influential variables explaining coral abundance in the Hawaiian Islands,” reported HIMB assistant researcher Erik Franklin, lead author of the study published in Marine Ecology Progress Series.

Read more about it in Science Daily and EurekAlert!. Image courtesy of K. Stender.

Sea level influenced tropical climate during last ice age

In a new study published online in the journal Nature Geoscience, SOEST Young Investigator Pedro DiNezio of the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC), and Jessica Tierney of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), report on their investigation of preserved geological clues (called “proxies”) of rainfall patterns during the last ice age, when the planet was dramatically colder than today. Comparing these patterns with computer model simulations, they found that the exposed Sunda Shelf between present-day Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and Thailand during the last ice age shifted rainfall and convection westward.

Read more about it at Science Daily, redOrbit, Space Daily and EurekAlert!. Image courtesy of P. DiNezio/IPRC; click on it to see the full version, including the present-day coastlines.

HNEI energy research at Kawaikini School classroom

Students at Kawaikini New Century Public Charter School in Lihu‘e, Kaua‘i, have the unique opportunity to learn in new classrooms that are themselves research and learning platforms. Two 1,200-sq. foot, state-of-the-art structures created by California-based Project Frog, Inc have been installed at the school for energy research lead by the Hawai‘i Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), testing the effectiveness of innovative energy efficient buildings powered by renewable energy. “Kawaikini values hands-on experiences as well as academics in the Hawaiian language and cultural learning environments that we create here. This building is a living model of sustainable design.” said Kaleimakamae Ka‘auwai, Executive Director of the School.

Read more about it in the UH Mānoa News; see also the SOEST press release PDF. Image courtesy of Project Frog; click on it to see the full version.

Please visit SOEST in the News: 2013 for archived news articles, with links to previous years.

SOEST Quicklinks

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The Dean’s Overview of the School

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