Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2010 for Cooperative Agreements NA17RJ1230, NA09OAR4320075, and NA08OAR4320910
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INE AND A AR TM M O S R P O H F E E R T I C U T R I E T S S E N I A T R N C I H O J ~U ~ H-NOAA Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2010 For Cooperative Agreements NA17RJ1230, NA09OAR4320075, and NA08OAR4320910 Thomas A. Schroeder, PhD Director Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research University of Hawai’i at Manoa 1000 Pope Road, MSB 312 Honolulu, HI 96822 USA • www.soest.hawaii.edu/jimar INE AND A AR TM M O S R P O H F E E R T I C U T R I E T S S E N I A T R N C I H O J ~ ~ UH-NOAA Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2010 Thomas A. Schroeder, PhD Director Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research University of Hawaii at Manoa 1000 Pope Road, MSB 312 Honolulu, HI 96822 http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/jimar JIMAR 2010 Annual Report ii Table of Contents Introduction ______________________________________________________________________________v Accomplishments for Fiscal Year 2009 Equatorial Oceanography ___________________________________________________________________1 Tsunami Research _________________________________________________________________________3 Climate Research _________________________________________________________________________6 Tropical Meteorology _____________________________________________________________________21 Fisheries Oceanography ___________________________________________________________________23 Coastal Research ________________________________________________________________________77 JIMAR Senior Fellow Contributions ____________________________________________________________85 JIMAR Scientist Contributions _______________________________________________________________87 Appendices Appendix I List of Acronyms ______________________________________________________________93 Appendix II Visiting Scientists ____________________________________________________________98 Appendix III Workshops and Meetings Hosted by JIMAR _______________________________________102 Appendix IV JIMAR Personnel ____________________________________________________________103 Appendix V Awards _____________________________________________________________________104 Appendix VI Publication Summary _________________________________________________________105 iii JIMAR 2010 Annual Report iv Introduction The Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR) is a cooperative enterprise between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Hawaii (UH). JIMAR research covers six themes, all aligned with the NOAA strategic plan and the Universityʼs Indo-Pacific mission. The themes are equatorial oceanography, tsunamis and other long-period ocean waves, climate, tropical meteorology, fisheries oceanography, and coastal research. The scope of these efforts spans the US affiliated Pacific Islands as well as the broader Pacific and Indian Ocean basins. JIMAR brings together research scientists from NOAA line offices, UH, and the global community to conduct research in the broad interests of NOAA. NOAA line offices collaborating in the JIMAR program include the Environmental Research Laboratories (especially the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory [PMEL], Atlantic Oceanic and Meteorological Laboratory [AOML], and the Earth System Research Laboratory [ESRL]), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Weather Service (NWS), National Environmental Satellite and Thomas Schroeder, Director Data Information Service (NESDIS), and National Ocean Service (NOS). JIMAR also promotes student development, outreach, and supports special training programs. JIMAR intends to be the lead agent for all NOAA research in the Indo-Pacific region and to maintain standards of accomplishment expected of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the UH. Included in this report are projects under award numbers NA17RJ1230, NA09OAR4320075, and NA08OAR4320910. Our mission and vision statements are: Mission: To conduct research that is necessary to properly understand and predict the changes in the Indo- Pacific environment and to conserve and manage coastal and marine resources in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands with a special emphasis on the Hawaiian Islands, for purposes of meeting the Nationʼs economic, social, and environmental needs in these regions. Vision: To support NOAAʼs operational and scientific move into the 21st century while recognizing the special character, vulnerabilities, and the role of the Pacific Islands in demonstrating the link between our planetʼs environment and the global and regional economies. During FY 2010 JIMAR continued to expand its role in fisheries and coastal research related to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. We continued to work with interdisciplinary groups addressing impacts of a changing climate on insular environments, especially in the area of water supply. We initiated an effort to downscale regional climate model outputs to individual island settings. Participants include NOAA, Dept. of Interior, and East-West Center. We have become a significant contributor to the Hawaiian Regional Ocean Observing System, housed in SOEST. This includes support of observational platforms. The Director continues to advise the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (UHM) campus on emergency preparedness. The Homeland Security Center for first responders to natural disasters has been funded and is in its start-up phase. The JIMAR Director serves on the advisory committee and is a content source. Lastly, JIMAR supports a program with the UHM School of Hawaiian Knowledge to ascertain historic accounts of Hawaiian natural disasters from Hawaiian language media (primarily 19th century Hawaiian-language newspapers). To date 4,000 Hawaiian language articles have been identified and assembled in a database for researchers and educators. The Director of JIMAR is a regular member of the University of Hawaii faculty and is appointed through joint decisions by leaders of the University and NOAA Research. The Director reports to an Administrative Board composed of University and NOAA officials. As both NOAA Research and University research ventures have grown, both agencies have delegated more responsibilities to the field. The Director of NOAA Research has delegated most decision-making authority to the Director of PMEL. The President of the University has delegated his responsibilities as Chair of the Administrative Board to the Chancellor of the Manoa campus. The Director manages day-to-day operations through the administrative staff (fully-supported by the Cooperative Agreement and returned indirect cost funds), Program Managers (Pelagic Fisheries Research Program [PFRP]), and faculty v JIMAR 2010 Annual Report PI/Directors (University of Hawaii Sea Level Center [UHSLC]). A Council, elected among the Fellows, advises the Director on major expenditures on visiting scientists and the selection of new and renewed Fellows. The list of current Fellows and Council members are provided. Although uncertainty continues over the future of JIMAR under the recompetition of the Cooperative/Joint Institutes, we have proceeded to expand the Fellows roster through the addition of scientists specializing in Ocean climate/chemistry. We renewed the appointments of all current Fellows so that all appointments are synchronized. Owing to the long-distance nature of the NOAA/ JIMAR relationship, no single meeting of all Fellows is possible. Business of both the Fellows and the Council are done via e-mail and by visits of the Director to NOAA facilities and professional meetings. JIMAR Senior Fellows from NOAA are Dr. Eddie Bernard (PMEL), Dr. Steven Bograd (PFEL), Dr. Richard Brill (NMFS), Dr. Richard Feely (PMEL), Dr. Ed Harrison (PMEL), Dr. Gregory Johnson (PMEL), Dr. William Kessler (PMEL), Dr. Frank Marks, Jr. (AOML), Dr. Michael McPhaden (PMEL), Dr. Dennis Moore (PMEL), Dr. Jeffrey Polovina (PIFSC), Dr. Samuel Pooley (PIFSC), Dr. Mark Powell (AOML), and Dr. Frank Schwing (PFEL). JIMAR Senior Fellows from the University of Hawaii are Dr. Gary Barnes, Dr. Steven Businger, Dr. Eric DeCarlo, Dr. Eric Firing, Dr. Charles Fletcher, III, Dr. Kim Holland, Dr. Roger Lukas, Dr. Douglas Luther, Dr. Julian McCreary, Dr. Mark Merrifield, Dr. Thomas Schroeder, Dr. John Sibert, and Dr. Bin Wang. Visiting Senior Fellows are Dr. Gerald Meehl, Dr. Jagadish Shukla, Dr. Akimasa Sumi, and Dr. Michio Yanai. JIMAR Council Members from NOAA are Dr. Michael McPhaden, Dr. Dennis Moore, and Dr. Jeffrey Polovina. JIMAR Council Members from the University of Hawaii are Dr. Eric Firing, Dr. Julian McCreary, Dr. Thomas Schroeder, and Dr. Bin Wang. Task I is the base program of JIMAR. It provides research support for the visiting scientist and postdoctoral programs, and the administrative support for the Institute. The University of Hawaii contributes to this task by bearing all indirect costs, and by paying the salary of the Director. Funding percentages by activity are exhibited in the following chart. Distribution of JIMAR’s Task I NOAA Funding by Activity Education/ Outreach/Other Research Support 1% Student Support 5% Administration 55% Post-Doc/Visiting Scientists 39% JIMAR science encompasses several dozen subprograms. In the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami, JIMAR has continued to play a leadership role in the development of an Indian Ocean tsunami warning network. The UH Sea Level Center had developed tide gauges that are capable of delivering near-real time high temporal resolution information. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has used our Pacific gauges