Skip to main content

Charles Fletcher

thumbnail
Forecasting Beach Loss from Sea-Level Rise on the Island of Kauaʻi
The beaches of the Hawaiian Islands attract nearly 9 million visitors each year, who inject around $15.6 billion into the state’s economy and support almost 200,000 jobs. Beyond their economic importance, Hawaiian beaches are also culturally and ecologically valuable. However, climate change driven sea-level rise is causing many beaches to disappear, endangering property, infrastructure, and critical habitats. The goal of this project was to develop a method for forecasting erosion-vulnerable beach areas that could be used in coastal management planning. Researchers focused on the island of Kauaʻi, modeling beach response to rising sea level over the next century and producing maps that provide information about...
This Project Snapshot provides a brief overview summary of the project "Empirical Projection of Future Shoreline Position and Inundation Due to Sea Level Rise".
thumbnail
Lauhala: Weaving Knowledges and Practices with a Climate Resilient and Culturally Significant Plant on Hawaiʻi Island
Hala is a much-loved plant by Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners and lauhala weavers, yet native coastal forests of hala are now considered rare in Hawaiʻi. Research on climate resilience indicates that hala has the potential to mitigate storm surges and act as a barrier between salt spray and crops growing near the shoreline. To provide opportunities for natural and cultural resource managers and practitioners on Hawaiʻi Island, more information is needed about hala’s species diversity distribution, role in ecosystems, and ongoing preservation efforts across the island, as well as hala’s historical and current uses as food, medicine, natural fibers and oils. This project will bring together experts within...
thumbnail
Simulating and Projecting Future Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Majuro Atoll
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) spreads over 29 atolls and has a population of over 50,000 people; over 27,000 of those people live on the Majuro Atoll, RMI’s capital. Sea level rise threatens the very existence of RMI as high-end projections of sea level rise by the end of the century exceed the average elevation of these low atoll reef islands. Already, waves wash over Majuro during “king tides” when strong winds blow from the west across the broad lagoon, or when there are high open ocean waves. Flooding waves breach island shores in multiple locations and wash into homes, cemeteries, across roads, and into commercial districts. Over the past decade, there has been a widespread exodus of residents...
Majuro Atoll in the central Pacific has high coastal vulnerability due to low-lying islands, rising sea level, high wave events, eroding shorelines, a dense population center, and limited freshwater resources. Land elevation is the primary geophysical variable that determines exposure to inundation in coastal settings. Accordingly, coastal elevation data (with accuracy information) are critical for assessments of inundation exposure. Previous research has demonstrated the importance of using high-accuracy elevation data and rigorously accounting for uncertainty in inundation assessments. A quantitative analysis of inundation exposure was conducted for Majuro Atoll, including accounting for the cumulative vertical...
View more...
ScienceBase brings together the best information it can find about USGS researchers and offices to show connections to publications, projects, and data. We are still working to improve this process and information is by no means complete. If you don't see everything you know is associated with you, a colleague, or your office, please be patient while we work to connect the dots. Feel free to contact sciencebase@usgs.gov.