This report documents the UH monitoring network which provides hydrologic parameters, such as precipitation, streamflow, and aquifer response, in small island developing communities like Tutuila, American Samoa, where water resources are limited. It highlights the collaborative efforts between the University of Hawaii's Water Resources Research Center and the American Samoa Power Authority to establish a new monitoring network for weather, stream gauging, and aquifer data, providing essential information for sustainable water resource management and various applications
This report focuses on addressing the critical challenges of sustainable water resources management on Tutuila, the main island in the Territory of American Samoa. It presents an updated conceptual hydrogeological model of the island's groundwater and surface water resources by integrating existing hydrological information with recently acquired subsurface datasets, shedding light on the complex nature of Tutuila's hydrogeology, which varies significantly across different locations on the island.
In response to climate change impacts like rising sea levels, efforts are being made in the Pacific Islands region to assess and adapt to the effects on mangroves. This includes improving management practices, reducing stress on mangroves, and integrating climate data into land-use planning to minimize risks to coastal ecosystems and human safety.
The absence of historical sea-level data for the Pacific over the past 1,000 years hinders our understanding of late Neogene sea-level changes. Data from tectonically stable sites in various Pacific locations suggest that sea level was close to its present level around 1,000 years ago, rose to approximately 0.9 meters above present levels around 700 years ago during the Little Climatic Optimum, then fell during the Little Ice Age before gradually rising again over the past 200 years. Tags: Pacific, sea-level change, historical data, Little Climatic Optimum, Little Ice Age.
Developed by scientists from the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center's Ecosystem Sciences Division, the Environmental Data Summary (EDS) tool utilizes survey data funded by the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP), Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), and USAID. This advanced tool, written in R, offers a consistent way to enhance in situ survey data with external environmental data, providing access to NOAA CoastWatch and OceanWatch datasets via the ERDDAP server protocol.
This dataset analyzes climate exposure, ecological resilience, and social vulnerability to climate change threats in U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands' coral reefs. Derived from NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program surveys, it focuses on ocean temperature increases and coral bleaching impacts, presenting findings in a publication series for Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
This data table includes in-situ near-shore seawater measurements of excess radon (Rn-222) and water levels collected in Faga'alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa.
The Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database (CoRTAD) Version 2, developed for coral reef ecosystem applications, offers global weekly sea surface temperature (SST) data from 1982 to 2008 at approximately 4 km resolution. It includes additional years compared to Version 1, and unlike Version 1's HDF4 format, Version 2 is in HDF5 format. The database provides SST metrics, thermal stress anomalies, and parameters like SSTA Degree Heating Week, designed for climate and ecosystem studies to explore the correlation between coral disease, bleaching, and temperature stress.
The dataset provides geotiff maps depicting coral growth and survival favorability in Guam and American Samoa under three climate scenarios, derived from various environmental factors. Scores between 0 and 1 indicate coral conditions, with 0 being the worst and 1 being the best, as detailed in the 2022 manuscript "Where favorable environmental conditions and resilient corals coincide: Guam and American Samoa".
This dataset comprises water temperature data collected through subsurface temperature recorders (STRs) for monitoring seawater temperature variability at permanent coral reef sites in American Samoa. Deployed as part of the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP), these high-accuracy temperature loggers, manufactured by SeaBird Electronics (SBE), operate at depths of 0 to 30 meters along depth transects at Ocean and Climate Change monitoring survey sites for 3 years. Recovered STRs are replaced with new deployments in the same location.
The ability of corals to adapt to climate change relies on the existing genetic variation for climate-related resistance. By genotyping 15,399 single nucleotide polymorphisms in Acropora hyacinthus corals within a naturally variable temperature environment, 114 highly divergent SNPs were identified as potential candidates for environmental selection, indicating the presence of alleles preadapted to high temperatures in the population.
Sea level anomalies in the tropical Pacific, influenced by events like El Niño and La Niña, pose risks to islands due to fluctuations in mean sea level. Advanced climate models and a multimodel ensemble approach offer improved forecasting, aiding Pacific island communities in mitigating the impacts of sea level extremes.
The preservation of our environment is a vital and growing concern in the United States. This report is to assist in the implementation of the regulation of these areas, the U.S. Army Corps commissioned a survey and preparation of a report on the wetlands of American Samoa.
The data includes tide gauge readings from before 1950 until the present in Pago Pago.
American Samoa boasts rich coral reefs fringing its islands, with coral reef protection integrated into a national system, including management by the National Park of American Samoa and the National Marine Sanctuary Program. The division between American Samoa and independent Samoa is relatively recent, with intertwined pre-Western histories and cultural connections that endure today among all Samoan Islands.
This study investigates the status of giant clam populations, at Rose Atoll, Samoa, revealing its significance as a refuge with high clam densities and low mortality rates.