The Hawai‘i Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) was established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Hawai‘i. Its mission is to study deep water marine processes in the Pacific Ocean. HURL builds its research program through an annual request for proposals. Projects are selected through peer review and by a scientific advisory panel. In addition, HURL accepts funded requests from private, state, or federal agencies and participates in international collaborative research projects in the Pacific.
HURL Research Programs
HURL Research Programs operate under the following headings. In addition, the emphasis on Technology in Navigation, Positioning and Observational Systems continues.
Program 1. Habitats, Ecosystems and Fisheries Resources
[NOAA Strategic Plan goals: Build Sustainable Fisheries; Recover Protected Species][NURP Goals: In cooperation with NMFS, provide the science basis to maintain healthy fisheries stocks, and to rebuild protected species. Develop new value from the sea.]
This research program focuses on seamount ecosystems and the biological and physical factors important in their maintenance. Habitat studies of benthic and pelagic communities, recruitment of animals, associated benthic and water column processes and productivity, and processes affecting faunal distributions are all part of this program. Particular emphasisis placed on assessing the status of protected species; on how these ecosystems support commercial or potentially commercial living resources (fishes, corals, crustaceans), so as to improve the scientific basis for policy decisions; and on the development of criteria to assist reliable assessments and predictions of living marine resources. Dr. Christopher Kelley is the program coordinator.
Program 2. Submarine Volcanic Processes
[NOAA Strategic Plan goals: Predict and Assess Decadal-to-Centennial Change; Advance Short-term Warning and Forecast services; National Capabilities & Supporting Infrastructure][NURP Goals: Achieve sustainable use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes ecosystems. Improve assessment and prediction through development of improved technology and integrated observations. Explore the ocean to better understand how it functions and interacts with the atmosphere and terrestrial systems.]
This research program focuses on submarine volcanology: the geology, geophysics, geochemistry, and biology of volcanic processes, their implications for island development and their contributions to the global carbon dioxide budget. It includes studies of their more remote effects (such as tsunami) in order to better understand natural processes and enhance predictive models so as to improve short-term warning services. Loihi Volcano is a prime site for this work, which includes monitoring submarine geophysical, geological and geochemical processes using an Ocean Bottom Observatory. These observing systems will provide a sound observational and monitoring capability. Dr. Alexander Malahoff is the program coordinator.
Program 3. Coral Reefs, Marine Carbonates and Ferromanganese Oxides
[NOAA Strategic Plan goals: Predict and Assess Decadal-to-Centennial Change; Sustain Healthy Coastal Ecosystems][NURP Goals: Achieve sustainable use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes ecosystems. Explore the ocean to better understand how it functions and interacts with the atmosphere and terrestrial systems.]
This research program focuses on two groups of marine minerals. The first group is coral reefs and marine carbonates, the formation and dissolution of which are relevant to NOAA objectives relating to the global carbon dioxide budget and linkages between forcing agents and paleoclimatic change. The second group is ferromanganese oxide crusts,their origins, the biological processes and organisms associated with them, processes that have formed large deposits, and the potential environmental impacts of any future marine mineralcrust mining, including tailings disposal. These studies address NOAA objectives: promote clean coastal waters, economic vitality, and well-planned and revitalized coastal communities. The prime sites for studies are in the 200-mile EEZ around Johnston Island, seamounts in the Southern Hawaiian Chain, and the coral reefs andbanks of the Northern Hawaiian Chain. Dr. John Wiltshire is the program coordinator.
Program 4. Coastal and Slope Processes
[NOAA Strategic Plan goals: Sustain Healthy Coastal Ecosystems; Advance Short-term Warning and Forecast services; Promote Safe Navigation; Predict and Assess Decadal-to-Centennial Change][NURP Goals: Achieve sustainable use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes ecosystems. Explore the ocean to better understand how it functions and interacts with the atmosphere and terrestrial systems. Develop new value from the sea.]
This research program focuses on physical processes that determine the morphology, substrates, stability, habitat potential, and susceptibility to pollution of the coastal zones and slopes of islands and the summits and slopes of seamounts. It includes studies of ongoing secular processes in relation to their products and the acquisition, in selected areas, of swath bathymetric data using full bottom-coverage technologies. It examines the effects of extreme events, such as hurricanes, tsunami, and submarine landslides, so as to improve basic understanding and predictive modeling of these natural phenomena as they impact coastal habitats and their biodiversity, economic vitality, and revitalized coastal communities. It also includes studies of long-term records of sealevel, such as those contained in drowned reefs and notches, that reflect the interplay between glacio-eustatic changes in sea level, and uplift, tilting & subsidence of islands due to lithospheric processes. An objective here is to extract long-term climate records and predict long-term climate change.
The Hawai‘i Undersea Research Laboratory looks forward to receiving research proposals from interested qualified scientists for participation in our research programs.
