Hawaii Climate Data Portal

Hawaii Climate Data Portal
Name	Hawaii Climate Data Portal
Type	Data portal
Founded	2010s
Location	Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
Focus	Climate data, sea level rise, extreme weather

Hawaii Climate Data Portal The Hawaii Climate Data Portal provides public access to climate observations and projections for the State of Hawaiʻi, integrating datasets for coastal resilience, watershed planning, and infrastructure adaptation. It aggregates observational networks, satellite products, and regional climate model outputs to support decision makers in Honolulu, Hilo, Kailua, and across the Hawaiian Islands. The portal complements national and regional efforts by agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, United States Geological Survey, and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

Overview

The portal was developed through collaborations among institutions including the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System, the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, with technical support from the NOAA Pacific Services Center, the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, and the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative. Its mission aligns with initiatives like the National Climate Assessment, the Regional Climate Centers, and the U.S. Global Change Research Program to advance coastal adaptation in places affected by Hurricane Iniki, Kīlauea eruptions, and chronic sea level rise. The portal serves practitioners working with the City and County of Honolulu, the County of Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, and federal partners such as the Department of the Interior and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Data and Datasets

Available datasets include historical station records from the Hawaiʻi State Climate Office, tide gauge records managed by the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Level Center, satellite altimetry from Jason-3, Landsat imagery, and reanalysis products from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction. The portal hosts downscaled projections from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, regional climate models developed in partnership with the Pacific Islands Climate Science Center, and sea level scenarios informed by reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the United States Geological Survey coastal datasets. Hydrologic and freshwater datasets incorporate work by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for watershed planning across islands including Oʻahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, and the Island of Hawaiʻi.

Tools and Features

Interactive mapping tools integrate with the Geographic Information Systems Office of the University of Hawaiʻi and use services such as ArcGIS Online and open-source platforms like QGIS and the GeoServer community. Visualization features include sea level rise inundation mapping tied to NOAA Tides and Currents datasets, extreme precipitation frequency analysis based on Atlas 14, and coastal erosion trend displays using time series from Landsat and Sentinel-2. Decision-support modules align with guidelines from the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, scenario planning methods used by the Hawai‘i Climate Adaptation Initiative, and tools developed for Coastal Zone Management by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Coastal Management. Users can download data in formats compatible with Python (programming language), R (programming language), and common GIS software used by groups such as the Hawaiʻi Association of Watershed Partnerships.

Users and Applications

Primary users include planners at the Hawaii State Energy Office, engineers at the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Highways Division, emergency managers with the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency, and researchers at institutions like the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, the Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program, and the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. The portal supports projects ranging from harbor design at Kalaeloa Harbor and runway resilience at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport to cultural site protection coordinated with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and community organizations such as the Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Cultural Center. It also aids federal efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Park Service for asset management at places like Haleakalā National Park and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Governance and Funding

Governance is typically multiagency, with steering committees involving the University of Hawaiʻi, the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, the NOAA Pacific Services Center, and tribal stakeholders including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and community councils. Funding streams have included federal grants from the NOAA Climate Program Office, cooperative agreements with the U.S. Geological Survey, and state appropriations coordinated with the Hawaiʻi State Legislature. Partnerships for applied research have involved the National Science Foundation and programmatic support from the Department of Energy for resilience planning and renewable energy siting.

Technical Infrastructure

The portal’s architecture leverages cloud hosting services used by partners including the Pacific Disaster Center and integrates APIs from NOAA Big Data Program providers and the Amazon Web Services Public Dataset Program where applicable. Data management follows standards promoted by the Federal Geographic Data Committee and metadata practices consistent with the Global Change Information System and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). High-performance computing resources for downscaling and model runs have been provided through collaborations with the Hawaii Advanced Research Center and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, while observational systems link to sensor networks managed by the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System and the Hawaiʻi State Data Center.

Category:Climate data portals Category:Science and technology in Hawaii Category:Environmental data