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A century of spatial and temporal patterns of drought in Hawai'i across hydrological, ecological, and socioeconomic scales
  • +13
  • Abby G. Frazier,
  • Christian P. Giardina,
  • Thomas W. Giambelluca,
  • Laura Brewington,
  • Yi-Leng Chen,
  • Pao-Shin Chu,
  • Lucas B. Fortini,
  • David A. Helweg,
  • Victoria Keener,
  • Ryan J. Longman,
  • Matthew P. Lucas,
  • Alan Mair,
  • Delwyn Oki,
  • Julian J. Reyes,
  • Stephanie Yelenik,
  • Clay Trauernicht
Abby G. Frazier
East-West Center

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Christian P. Giardina
USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry
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Thomas W. Giambelluca
University of Hawaii at Manoa
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Laura Brewington
East-West Center
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Yi-Leng Chen
University of Hawaii at Manoa
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Pao-Shin Chu
University of Hawaii at Manoa
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Lucas B. Fortini
United States Geological Survey
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David A. Helweg
United States Geological Survey
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Victoria Keener
East-West Center
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Ryan J. Longman
University of Hawaii at Manoa
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Matthew P. Lucas
University of Hawaii at Manoa
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Alan Mair
United States Geological Survey
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Delwyn Oki
United States Geological Survey
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Julian J. Reyes
U.S. Department of State
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Stephanie Yelenik
USGS
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Clay Trauernicht
University of Hawaii at Manoa
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Abstract

Drought is a prominent feature of Hawaii’s climate, however, the biological, ecological, cultural, and socioeconomic impacts of drought in Hawaii are not well understood. This paper provides a comprehensive synthesis of impacts of past droughts in Hawaii that we integrate with a geospatial analysis of drought characteristics (duration, frequency, severity, and geographic extent) using a newly developed 93-year (1920-2012) gridded Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) dataset. The synthesis examines past droughts classified into five categories: meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, ecological, and socioeconomic drought. Results show that drought duration, magnitude, and frequency have all increased significantly, consistent with trends found in other Pacific Islands. Most droughts, though not all, were associated with El Nino events, and the two worst droughts in the past century were 1998-2002 and 2007-2012. The most severe drought in the record (2007-2012) had the greatest impacts on Hawaii Island, whereas the islands of Oahu and Kauai experienced more severe drought conditions during the 1998-2002 event. Both droughts exerted a large and quantifiable impact on the agricultural sector, and although anecdotal evidence points to strong impacts on ecological and socioeconomic sectors, more research is needed to understand drought impacts to these sectors. This synthesis is an example of how coupling quantitative SPI analysis with economic and ecological impacts can provide the historical context needed to better understand future drought projections, and will contribute to more effective policy and management of natural, cultural, hydrological, and agricultural resources.
23 Sep 2022Published in Sustainability volume 14 issue 19 on pages 12023. 10.3390/su141912023