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Hawai'i and Pacific Islands

Landscape Conservation in a Changing Climate: Lessons From the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative

Submitted by nina.hall on

This report presents key findings from evaluative research investigating the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative's (PICCC) achievements in the Hawaiian Islands between 2009 and 2018. Based on interviews and a survey, the report describes the foundational conditions from which the PICCC set out to establish a landscape conservation framework, the challenges it faced, its goals and achievements, and transferable lessons from the experience for any conservation community working with limited resources across large expanses of land and ocean. 

Advanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC)

ADCIRC simulates tidal circulation and storm surge propagation over large computational domains, eliminating the need for imposing approximate open-water boundary conditions that can create inaccuracies in model results, while simultaneously providing high resolution in areas of complex shoreline and bathymetry where it is needed to maximize simulation accuracy.

Targeted areas for ADCIRC application include continental shelves, nearshore coastal areas, inlets and estuaries.

Typical ADCIRC applications include the following:

Climate Change in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Indicators and Considerations for Key Sectors

Submitted by maddy.sherer on

Hotter weather, stronger typhoons, coral reef death, and physical and mental health risks are among the major challenges detailed in this report on climate change in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

Preparing for the Regional Health Impacts of Climate Change in the United States

Submitted by maddy.sherer on

Each region of the United States experiences climate change and its impacts on health differently, due to the regions’ location-specific climate exposures and unique societal and demographic characteristics. This document describes the various health impacts climate change will have on different regions of the United States as outlined in the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), actions taken by the CDC Climate and Health Program’s health department partners to prepare for and respond to climate change in their communities, and relevant tools and resources.

Flooding Hazards: Science and Preparedness

Submitted by maddy.sherer on
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Coastal flooding at the Outer Banks of North Carolina
Module Description
This awareness-level, eight-hour course addresses the current science of the causes of floods (both meteorological and otherwise), flood forecasting, flood risk assessment, and best practices for preparation and mitigation for both short- and long-fuse flooding events. Key concepts and discussion topics are reinforced with facilitator-led group activities that utilize real-world flood scenarios that illustrate the diverse challenges and complexities that can occur during actual flood events while building participants' experience and confidence in anticipating, heeding warnings, and responding to floods. The goal of this course is to prepare participants to recognize the conditions that lead to flood events, evaluate their community's risk, and prepare appropriately.
Type of Training
Difficulty Scale
Module Time
8:00

Coastal Hazards Awareness

Submitted by maddy.sherer on
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High tide at the Ocean Beach pier, San Diego, California
Module Description
This one-day, awareness-level training course aims to increase the awareness of the hazards facing coastal communities and basic strategies to reduce the risk to those hazards. This course provides training on the basic science of, assessment of, and preparedness for natural hazards and risks that uniquely affect coastal communities. Examples of these hazards are short-term events such as high surf, storm surge, and tsunami inundation or long-term threats from sea level rise and coastal erosion.
Difficulty Scale
Module Time
8:00

Coastal Hazard and Vulnerability Assessment Tools

Submitted by maddy.sherer on
Image
Beach erosion at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina
Module Description
This course will build on the first course of the series, Coastal Hazards Awareness, by supplementing the awareness knowledge with tools and skills for practical use. The one-day, performance-level training course provides training on available tools for the assessment and planning for natural hazards and vulnerabilities that uniquely affect coastal communities. Examples of these hazards include short-term events such as high surf, storm surge, and tsunami inundation or long-term threats from sea level rise and coastal erosion. The goal of this course is to enable participants to identify methods and considerations for assessing hazards and vulnerabilities of coastal communities, compare and select sources and methods for collecting coastal hazard and vulnerability data, and utilize available web-based tools to conduct a preliminary hazard and vulnerability assessment in their community.
Difficulty Scale
Module Time
8:00

Tsunami Awareness

Submitted by maddy.sherer on
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2004 Tsunami in Ap Nang, Krabi province in Thailand
Module Description
This course presents the tsunami hazard, current hazard assessment tools and products, tsunami warning and dissemination of systems, and effective community response and tsunami risk-reduction strategies. The course is designed to enhance the participants’ abilities to support their organizational preparedness and response efforts. At the conclusion of the course, a scenario-based group activity challenges participants to identify effective actions that help reduce the impacts of a tsunami hazard in their community. This is an awareness-level course that provides a basic understanding of tsunamis, hazard assessment, warning and dissemination, and community response strategies to effectively reduce tsunami risk. The goal of this course is to enhance the participants' abilities to support their organizational preparedness and response efforts.
Difficulty Scale
Module Time
8:00

Hurricane Awareness

Submitted by maddy.sherer on
Image
Hurricane Isabel as seen from the ISS on September 15, 2003
Module Description
This course provides a basic understanding of hurricane science, forecasting, warning, and preparedness to help emergency managers, responders, government administrators, and community members make better, more informed decisions in hurricane planning and preparedness. The course enhances the ability of participants to identify and describe the conditions of tropical cyclone formation, provide official watch and warning definitions, and to make recommendations in preparation for a hurricane and the associated hazards such as high winds, heavy rain, and storm surge. The goal of this course is to provide participants with the basics of hurricane science, forecasting, warning, and preparedness.
Difficulty Scale
Module Time
8:00
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