Climate Change in the Pacific Islands
Hawai`i is situated in an area of the Pacific that is protected from the affects of major annual tropical storms while simultaneously receiving an abundant supply of annual rainfall and moderate year round temperatures. Annual rainfall has decreased and surface temperatures have risen during the last several decades, but it is unknown whether these conditions will persist or change with global climate change. The seasonal pattern of Hawai`i’s rainfall combines with geographic and elevational features (up to 13,400 feet) to produce extreme rainfall gradients over short distances. These unique island features produce a wide range of ecological communities that have supported the diversification of Hawai`ian plants and animals. In addition to temperature and rainfall changes, sea level rise and ocean acidification are also likely to have significant affects on all of the Pacific Islands. Sea Level Rise
Ocean AcidificationDissolving of carbon dioxide into ocean surface waters will increase the acidity (pH) of ocean surface waters. Carbonate-based animals and plants form the foundation of our marine ecosystems. An increase in ocean acidity is likely to result in a decline in the ability of coral reefs to maintain their calcium carbonate structure. Hawai`i supports more than 60% of the coral reefs in the United States with additional extensive coral reefs in the Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and refuge islands and atolls throughout the Pacific. Phytoplankton that utilize calcium carbonate are also likely to decline in abundance, along with other carbonate-dependent animals such as marine snails and carbonate-dependent plants such as red marine algae that utilize carbonate to cement together tropical coral and algal reefs. Finally, the affects of acidification on the development of carbonate-dependent marine larvae is largely unknown but of potentially great significance. Read more at this website: |