University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers spotted the world’s largest fish species, a 30-foot whale shark, a mile off Kāneʻohe Bay near Kualoa Ranch on November 2.

Watch the UH News YouTube video here.

Researchers from the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) Shark Research Lab were returning from conducting field work when they spotted seabirds flying over what they suspected was a bait ball, where small fish swarm in a tightly packed spherical formation near the surface while being pursued and herded by predators below.

Mark Royer, a HIMB shark researcher, went into the water to see what sealife had gathered to feed and was surprised to see the whale shark.

“It is surprising,” said Royer. “[Whale sharks] are here more often than we think, however they are probably hard to come across, because I didn’t see this animal until I hopped in the water.”

The whale shark was feeding on nehu (Hawaiian anchovy) and Royer said the video captured a large aggregation of predators both small and large including ʻopelu (mackerel scad), kawakawa (mackerel tuna), aku (skipjack tuna), sandbar sharks and seabirds, who were also feeding on the nehu.

“While all the small nehu were being drawn to the surface from all the predators, the whale shark was coming in and using its massive mouth to come up to the surface, open it, and then the suction would cause all the fish to funnel into its huge mouth,” said Royer.

Multiple sandbar sharks (approximately five feet in length) swam below the whale shark. Above the surface, birds were circling around and diving to eat the nehu. Whale sharks are known to approach boats standing idle in the water. It is important to be mindful and respectful, let them approach, and don’t aggressively approach and disturb them.

“[The whale shark] would swim and approach our boat that was nearby, put its head up to it and go back down, and repeat that over and over again,” said Royer. “That’s a behavior that whale sharks sometimes exhibit: if your boat is standing still in the water they [might] approach you. They’ve been known, both here in Hawaiʻi and other parts of the world, to do that.”

Lelewaʻa (ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi for whale shark) was likely named for their propensity to approach and lean on canoe outriggers according to the late Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau.

The Shark Research Lab investigates the behavior, physiology and ecology of sharks and other fish.

Read also on CBS News, UH News, and KHON2.

Research on the trillions of microorganisms that make up a person’s or ecosystem’s microbiome can lead to medical breakthroughs to treat diseases like inflammatory bowel syndrome and diabetes and discoveries that transform conservation efforts.

According to a study published in Nature Microbiology and co-authored by a University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa associate professor, microbiome samples from Indigenous communities have the potential to further the fields of medicine, ecology, oceanography and more, but those same communities often have been excluded from the research process and may miss out on the benefits that result from their contributions to science.

“Unfortunately, Indigenous peoples have experienced exploitation and harm due to microbiome research,” said co-author Rosie Alegado, associate professor in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. “In this publication, we propose a framework centered on relationality among Indigenous peoples, researchers and microbes, to guide ethical microbiome research. Our framework foregrounds accountability so that historical power imbalances that favored researcher perspectives and interests can expand to provide space for Indigenous worldviews in pursuit of Indigenous research agency and sovereignty.”

Mutually beneficial partnerships

Ethical inclusion of Indigenous communities in microbiome research can provide benefits for all populations and reinforce mutually beneficial partnerships between researchers and the public.

“Microbes associated with Indigenous peoples have been framed as valuable resources to restore lost microbial diversity and treat chronic disease in industrialized populations, but these research directions often do not center the research needs or interests of the Indigenous communities that researchers rely on for microbiome data,” said Alyssa Bader, lead author of the study and assistant professor at McGill University.

The article lays out a framework for ethical microbiome research practices that include Indigenous communities and ensure that these communities reap the benefits from their contributions. The researchers discuss the Indigenous principle of relationality, in which people are interconnected to each other and the world around them, as a framework to guide human microbiome researchers to work in partnership with Indigenous people.

Moving forward

Moving forward the authors see possible next steps:

• (1) researchers working with Indigenous communities should assess their practices to determine how best to move forward with their research in an ethical manner;
• (2) institutions that support researchers should actively assess their own intellectual property policies to ensure that Indigenous peoples with whom they interact retain appropriate control over their data; and
• (3) funders and institutions should be required to adhere to a relational framework with Indigenous peoples involved in research they support.

The authors say that research with Indigenous communities should be deeply collaborative and uphold Indigenous sovereignties throughout the research process.

“It is essential that Indigenous community partners have key roles in co-development of research questions, establishment of protocols for consent and data stewardship and governance, as well as interpretation and communication of results,” said Alegado.

Read also on UH News and Kaua’i Now.
Portions of this content are courtesy of McGill University. 

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa undergraduate students who have been developing a satellite to launch into space in 2024 earned a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN) In Switzerland for its RD51 Detector School November 27–December 1.

The RD51 Detector School is an intensive one week lecture and laboratory course. The school is primarily for PhD students, making it an incredible accomplishment to have three UH Mānoa undergraduate students accepted.

“This is an extraordinary success for the undergraduate students, and for the earth and planetary exploration technology (EPET) program, which has enabled all of this through its student-centered approach to high-quality undergraduate research and through its support to assist students being successful in their learning and research efforts,” said Peter Englert, a professor in the Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP).

HIGP developed the EPET certificate to provide undergraduate students with an opportunity to design research projects and build payloads for Earth, Moon and Sun observing satellites with the goal of producing, launching and operating their satellites.

Current EPET students Sapphira Akins, Howin Ma and Chris Freitas applied to participate in the RD51 Detector School. Akins and Ma were accepted for in-person participation in Switzerland, and Freitas was accepted for participation in the online part of the school. All three students are part of the CubeSat Relativistic Electron and Proton Energy Separator (CREPES) project.

“I feel very grateful to be able to study in a community such as the one at CERN!” said Akins. “Programs like these help me to push myself academically. I hope to gain a deeper understanding of micro patterned gaseous detectors, and ways in which we can implement them in space.”

“I believe that the insights and experiences I gain from being a part of such a prestigious institution will serve as a powerful source of motivation, inspiring me to set and achieve even higher standards for myself,” said Ma. “I also love traveling, and experiencing other cultures so I’m excited for my time in Switzerland.”

Mentorship from a leading expert

In spring 2023, to learn more about gas electron multiplier (GEM) detectors and their potential application to space research, EPET turned to Fabio Sauli of CERN. Sauli is the world’s leading expert on GEM and micro-pattern gaseous detectors. Sauli provided four Zoom lectures to the CREPES group with extensive discussion sessions, which provided the background knowledge in advancing the CREPES project.

The RD51 Detector School will provide Akins and Ma with additional skills that are important in the final design and assembly of the CREPES flight detector, which will be built in 2024. The learning modules of the school include gas detector physics and technologies, GEM foil manufacturing techniques, detector read out techniques, modeling and simulations. Akins and Ma will bring back advanced knowledge to help contribute to the success of the CREPES mission plan.

“In particular, we are working on a project here at UH that is attempting to put a gas electron multiplier in space, a detector that doesn’t appear to have any flight heritage,” said Akins. “Being able to receive valuable hands-on experience with this detector, and many similar, will be significant when it comes to understanding how to properly integrate it into a satellite.”

In November, the CREPES group will prepare a proposal to the CubeSat Launch Initiative to obtain support for the launch of their GEM detector mission into space at the end of 2024 or early 2025. Writing such a proposal is a significant task for a student research group.

School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology supported the CERN opportunity through providing travel resources for the student’s participation. Students have been supported by Hawaiʻi Space Grant Consortium internships, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program internships and conference travel grants.

Read also on UH News.

On the surface of many of the icy moons in our solar system, scientists have documented strike-slip faults, those that occur when fault walls move past one another sideways, as is the case at the San Andreas fault in California. Two recently published studies led by University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa earth and space scientists document and reveal the mechanisms behind these geologic features on the largest moon of Saturn, Titan, and Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede. 

“We are interested in studying shear deformation on icy moons because that type of faulting can facilitate the exchange of surface and subsurface materials through shear heating processes, potentially creating environments conducive for the emergence of life,” said Liliane Burkhard, lead author of the studies and research affiliate at the Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. 

When an icy moon moves around its parent planet, the gravity of the planet can cause tidal flexing of the surface of the moon, which can drive geologic activity such as strike-slip faulting. Tidal stresses vary as the moon changes distance from its planet because the moon’s orbit can be elliptical rather than circular.

Titan, a frozen ocean world

The extremely cold temperatures on the surface of Titan mean that water ice acts as rock that can crack, fault, and deform. Evidence from the Cassini spacecraft suggests that tens of miles below the frozen surface, there is a liquid water ocean. Further, Titan is the only moon in our solar system with a dense atmosphere, which, uniquely, supports an Earth-like hydrological cycle of methane clouds, rain, and liquid flowing across the surface to fill lakes and seas, placing it among a handful of worlds that could potentially contain habitable environments. 

The NASA Dragonfly mission will launch in 2027, with a planned arrival on Titan in 2034. The novel rotorcraft lander will conduct several flights on the surface, exploring a variety of locations to search for the building blocks and signs of life. 

In their investigation of the Selk crater area on Titan, the designated initial landing site for the Dragonfly mission, Burkhard and her co-author explored the potential for shear deformations and strike-slip faulting. To do this, they calculated the stress that would be exerted on Titan’s surface due to tidal forces as the moon orbits Saturn and tested the possibility of faulting by examining various characteristics of the frozen ground. 

“While our prior research indicated that certain areas on Titan might currently undergo deformation due to tidal stresses, the Selk crater area would need to host very high pore fluid pressures and a low crustal coefficient of friction for shear failure, which seems improbable,” said Burkhard. “Consequently, it’s safe to infer that Dragonfly won’t be landing in a strike-slip ditch!”

Ganymede, a moon with a checkered past

In a second publication, Burkhard and her co-authors investigated the geologic history of Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon, in the area of Nippur/Philus Sulci by examining high-resolution data available for this region and conducting a tidal stress investigation of Ganymede’s past.

Ganymede has documented strike-slip faults on the surface, but its current orbit is too circular, as opposed to elliptical, to cause any tidal stress deformation. 

The researchers found that several crosscutting bands of light terrain in the Nippur/Philus Sulci site show varying degrees of tectonic deformation, and the chronology of tectonic activity implied by mapped crosscutting relationships revealed three eras of distinct geologic activity: ancient, intermediate and youngest.  

“I investigated strike-slip faulting features in intermediate-aged terrain, and they correspond in slip direction to the predictions from modeling stresses of a higher past eccentricity. Ganymede could have undergone a period where its orbit was much more elliptical than it is today,” said Burkhard. 

Other shear features found in younger geologic units in the same region do not align in slip direction with typical first-order shear indicators. 

“This suggests that these features might have formed through another process and not necessarily due to higher tidal stresses,” Burkhard added. “So, Ganymede has had a tidal ‘mid-life crisis’, but its youngest ‘crisis’ remains enigmatic.”

The recent studies along with space exploration missions create a positive feedback of knowledge. 

“Geologic investigations, such as these, prior to launch and arrival, inform and guide mission activities,” said Burkhard. “And missions such as Dragonfly, Europa Clipper and ESA’s JUICE will further constrain our modeling approach and can help pinpoint the most interesting locations for lander exploration and possibly for gaining access to the interior ocean of icy moons.”

Read also on Yahoo! News, Mirage News, Eurekalert, Phys.org, Science Direct, Maui Now, Kauai Now, Hawai’i News Now, and Space.com.

The effects of climate change are no longer far-off threats and are now contributing factors to many of today’s disasters, often exacerbating the frequency of wildfires, heat waves and flooding, and the intensity of rainfall during hurricanes and storms. These unprecedented weather events have triggered a global urgency to prioritize research-based initiatives to understand, predict, mitigate and reverse the impacts of climate change.

The Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has earned both national and international acclaim for its research and is a part of the renowned School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology. In a field often dominated by men, three distinguished female faculty are further elevating the department’s research and prestige, making atmospheric waves in climate modeling and cloud microphysics.

Enhancing global climate models

Professor Christina Karamperidou’s research focuses on El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which is the primary factor affecting variability in water temperature, rainfall and wind strength in the Pacific.

One of the methods Karamperidou uses to study ENSO is to synthesize climate model simulations with paleoclimate data, much of which is gathered from ancient, preserved material such as coral skeletons, shells or lake sediment, which can indicate past temperature and rainfall across the Pacific. Using paleoclimate ENSO records from the Holocene (the past 12,000 years) along with climate model simulations, Karamperidou and her team can study the climate mechanisms behind the ENSO phenomenon—its predictability, impacts and how its characteristics may change under the influence of natural or anthropogenic climate change.

“Coming out of a longer [three-year] La Niña (cooling of sea surface temperatures), most models currently predict a big El Niño for the end of this year, which could lead to potentially more tropical Pacific cyclones, and altered rainfall patterns in our islands and around the world,” said Karamperidou who recently received the Early Career Scientist Award from the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics. “Improving our understanding of ENSO mechanisms through our studies of modern and past climates allows us to improve ENSO representation in global climate model simulations to help reduce uncertainties and improve accuracy of El Niño prediction and future climate projections.”

Understanding clouds

One of the most uncertain and complex Earth systems represented in climate models is clouds and the aerosols that they form on. Studying the fundamental structure and processes involved in clouds and aerosols not only allows scientists to better parameterize them in models, but also improves our understanding of the atmosphere and weather patterns.

Associate Professor Alison Nugent studies orographic precipitation, how mountain topography induces or modifies precipitation. Breaking down cloud microphysics, Nugent explained, “In one cubic centimeter—the size of a sugar cube—a cloud has 100 cloud droplets. In a polluted atmosphere, it can have many more times that in the same volume. The size and number of cloud droplets is important for their relationship to precipitation and to radiation. For example, a cloud with many small cloud droplets will be brighter and reflect more radiation, and may take longer to precipitate than a cloud with fewer, large droplets.”

Nugent recently received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development award that will allow her team to investigate the role of wind, waves and other atmospheric and oceanic properties that influence the production of sea salt aerosols in coastal environments on three Pacific islands. Nugent also helped to secure funding to install 84 climate stations throughout the state.

Broadening horizons in atmospheric sciences

Another researcher making major strides is Associate Professor Jennifer Griswold, the atmospheric sciences department’s first female chair. Since becoming chair in 2021, she has formalized the department’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and has spearheaded a national initiative locally for the past few years called Expand Your Horizons–Hawaiʻi, an annual STEM conference for young women in sixth to eighth grades to encourage and support young girls’ enthusiasm in STEM careers.

Prior to joining UH, she helped build the first Phase Doppler Interferometer (PDI) and data processing program, a breakthrough innovation and process that significantly improved the study of cloud structures and properties. Now used at several institutions, the PDI measures cloud droplet size and velocity for each spherical droplet. It also records the arrival time of the droplet to determine clustering and turbulence.

Griswold’s research continues to focus on improving the understanding of physical and dynamical processes governing global cloud aerosol precipitation interactions, from volcanic activity, biomass burning and even changes in anthropogenic aerosol levels during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

“Atmospheric sciences, especially climate and seasonal forecasting, is a data-intensive field and the most important and applied research areas going forward,” said Griswold. “Almost all industries will be impacted by climate change, and knowing how and when things will change can positively or negatively impact a business, community or individuals.”

For more, see Noelo’s 2023 story. Noelo is UH’s research magazine from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation. Read also on UH News.

The County of Kauaʻi Planning Department received the American Planning Association’s 2023 National Resilience & Sustainability Award for the department’s recently adopted Kauaʻi Sea Level Rise Constraint District Ordinance. The county used data from the Climate Resilience Collaborative (CRC) at the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Manoa to determine elevations for future safe building construction on Kaua‘i to avoid impacts from sea level rise. 

“Kaua‘i County has made it a priority to base their development policies on solid scientific modeling,” said Chip Fletcher, interim Dean of the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) and director of the CRC. “The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa is proud to continue working with this progressive administration who puts public health and safety as their first priority.”

Only one planning program nationwide is selected annually for this award, recognizing the exemplary work of planners to build policies or plans addressing resiliency and sustainability.

“We are incredibly proud of our Planning Department and all involved in this groundbreaking ordinance which was signed into law just last year,” said Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami. “Kaua‘i is no stranger to coastal erosion and flooding, as we’ve seen first-hand how climate change is affecting our community. We thank APA for acknowledging our hardworking associates and their progressive and innovative efforts to ensure a better future of our island and people.”

Tiffany Anderson, assistant researcher with CRC at SOEST, developed computer models that identified potential future flood depths due to rising sea levels and wave inundation on Kaua‘i. This information was incorporated into the County of Kaua‘i’s Sea Level Rise Constraint District within its Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance as a proactive measure to enhance community resilience and reduce risk to the built environment. This measure was formally adopted in October 2022.

“It’s hard to be the first to do anything, and the County of Kaua‘i demonstrated that they truly believe in the people of Kaua‘i’s ability to grow and adapt to changes in our environment,” said Anderson. “Kaua‘i County planners talked with community members to make sure that local people’s voices were heard, and then they created a process that was very transparent, straightforward, and non-disruptive to current building procedures.” 

“Coastal communities are particularly vulnerable to devastating climate impacts. Utilizing scientific studies and mapping done by the University of Hawaiʻi’s Climate Resilience Collaborative, we were able to craft new land use and building design regulations,” said Kauaʻi Planning Director, Kaʻaina Hull. “Mahalo to APA for this award, particularly recognizing the need for scientific modeling within zoning regulations to address municipalities that are increasingly finding themselves under threat by the various hazards of our changing climates.”

The passage of the Sea Level Rise Constraint District bill is the culmination of nearly five years of scientific study, community engagement, and stakeholder input. The Constraint District is also unique in its integration of Geographic Information Systems-based modeling. Kauaʻi is one of the first counties in the nation to implement scientific modeling for climate change hazards into zoning and land use regulations.

The American Planning Association recognized Kauaʻi’s SLR Constraint District as a proactive model that minimizes the threat to public health and safety, promotes resilient planning and design, and reduces expenditure of public monies for costly flood control projects.

“By acting thoughtfully and decisively to locate new structures out of harm’s way, the County of Kaua’i provides an important example of how to make our communities safer and reduce the damage and costs of a changing climate,” said Ben Hitchings, FAICP, 2023 APA Awards jury chair. “The effective use of scientific data and web-based technology to support this initiative creates a transparent and innovative approach that others can emulate.”

“I was born and raised on Kaua‘i, so having the opportunity to be a part of this process has been especially meaningful,” said Anderson. “I commend Mayor Derek Kawakami, Kaua‘i Planning Director Ka‘āina Hull and his team, and the Kaua‘i County Council for having the foresight, patience, and courage to work with Kaua‘i’s people to keep our island communities thriving for the next generations.”

* * * 

Portions of this content are courtesy of the Kaua‘i County Planning Depart

The first prototype of Pono, a computing and dynamic tasking hosted payload developed by Privateer, completed environmental testing at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa over the summer. Undergraduate students, faculty, and staff at the Hawaiʻi Space Flight Laboratory (HSFL) partnered with Privateer, a local company with headquarters in Maui, to assist with testing their payload.

HSFL was established in 2007 as a partnership between the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology and the College of Engineering, and is also embedded as a laboratory of the Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology. This opportunity helped train students in workforce development, and supported the local economy by utilizing UH infrastructure that had already been developed.

“We look forward to continuing to work together and support them with design and testing for the next Pono payload and future projects,” said Yosef Ben Gershom, an HSFL Engineer.

In collaboration with Privateer’s engineers, HSFL’s equipment and technical expertise—including clean room, shaker table, and thermal vacuum chamber—enabled successful vibration and thermal vacuum testing of the payload’s ability to operate in space-like conditions.

“As a multidisciplinary research and education center, our mission is to help develop and support the aerospace industry in Hawaiʻi through workforce development and establishing infrastructure,” Ben Gershom said. “Collaborations with local companies and groups such as Privateer are crucial to diversifying and growing our island economy.”

Researchers hope the collaboration is a precursor to a continuing partnership, which could include future testing, technical reviews and interchange and mutually growing the talent and employment opportunities offered by aerospace and tech industries in Hawaiʻi.

Read also on UH News.