Climate services, which provide actionable information about climate impacts, are crucial for Pacific Islands' policy, planning, and decision-making. NOAA, in collaboration with regional partners, has undertaken projects to enhance climate services through capacity building, engagement with users, and tailored information delivery, resulting in better-informed decisions and increased regional coordination.
The U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) are meteorologically characterized by tropical latitudes, consistently warm temperatures, high humidity, and frequent extreme weather events influenced by factors like the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and tropical cyclones. Climate change effects, including rising sea levels and temperature, are impacting these islands, potentially leading to more severe droughts and intense precipitation events, particularly affecting freshwater resources and local ecosystems.
American Samoa boasts rich coral reefs fringing its islands, with coral reef protection integrated into a national system, including management by the National Park of American Samoa and the National Marine Sanctuary Program. The division between American Samoa and independent Samoa is relatively recent, with intertwined pre-Western histories and cultural connections that endure today among all Samoan Islands.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed regression equations for estimating flood-peak discharges, essential for designing infrastructure and managing flood plains. This Fact Sheet focuses on the application of the updated National Flood-Frequency (NFF) Program to rural areas on the island of Tutuila, American Samoa, while noting that new equations have been developed for various regions across the United States.
Oregon State University's PRISM Group conducted a project to create updated climate maps for various Pacific island regions, including the Hawaiian Islands, Guam, CNMI, Palau, American Samoa, and the Federated States of Micronesia. These maps, produced at high resolution, encompassed temperature and precipitation data for the period of 1971-2000, aiding in climate analysis and resource management for these areas.
The dataset provides geotiff maps depicting coral growth and survival favorability in Guam and American Samoa under three climate scenarios, derived from various environmental factors. Scores between 0 and 1 indicate coral conditions, with 0 being the worst and 1 being the best, as detailed in the 2022 manuscript "Where favorable environmental conditions and resilient corals coincide: Guam and American Samoa".
This data table includes in-situ near-shore seawater measurements of excess radon (Rn-222) and water levels collected in Faga'alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa.
Climate change disproportionately affects developing countries due to its impacts on agriculture, water supplies, and natural disasters, jeopardizing progress in poverty reduction and threatening the well-being of billions. The World Bank Group is actively aiding these nations by addressing climate challenges through tailored approaches, encompassing data on climate systems, resilience, emissions, and various sectors like health and infrastructure.
The Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database (CoRTAD) Version 2, developed for coral reef ecosystem applications, offers global weekly sea surface temperature (SST) data from 1982 to 2008 at approximately 4 km resolution. It includes additional years compared to Version 1, and unlike Version 1's HDF4 format, Version 2 is in HDF5 format. The database provides SST metrics, thermal stress anomalies, and parameters like SSTA Degree Heating Week, designed for climate and ecosystem studies to explore the correlation between coral disease, bleaching, and temperature stress.
This dataset analyzes climate exposure, ecological resilience, and social vulnerability to climate change threats in U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands' coral reefs. Derived from NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program surveys, it focuses on ocean temperature increases and coral bleaching impacts, presenting findings in a publication series for Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Developed by scientists from the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center's Ecosystem Sciences Division, the Environmental Data Summary (EDS) tool utilizes survey data funded by the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP), Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), and USAID. This advanced tool, written in R, offers a consistent way to enhance in situ survey data with external environmental data, providing access to NOAA CoastWatch and OceanWatch datasets via the ERDDAP server protocol.