Browsing by Subject "Hawaii"
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Item The construction of Honolulu(2014-12) Warren, Nathan David; Kelban, Stuart; Ramirez-Berg, CharlesWithin this report is an examination of the influences, ideas, and historical references that were instrumental in writing the pilot episode of Honolulu. This report will also chronicle the development of the story from its initial inception to its hopeful future. Special attention is given to obstacles in the story that were overcome by unconventional, or counter-intuitive writing measures.Item Energy transitions on the Hawaiian Islands : water resources implications for Hawaii's electrical power system(2014-08) Dawes, Colleen Marie; Pierce, Suzanne Alise, 1969-; King, Carey; Beach, FredImported fossil fuels currently supply over 90% of the Hawaiian Islands' annual consumed electricity, the majority of which is produced by petroleum-fired power plants. The state of Hawaii has a goal to dramatically reduce this reliance on imports and achieve 30% locally sourced, renewable power use by 2030. This goal signals an energy transition for the state that is achievable through decommissioning, repurposing and new development in power generating technologies and infrastructure. In addition to dependencies on imports and fossil fuels, Hawaii's electrical industry is also currently the largest water user in the state of Hawaii with over 75% of all surface water and groundwater withdrawals attributed to thermoelectric generation and cooling. Transitions in Hawaii's fuel mix from a petroleum dominant mix to renewable fuel for power generation could have significant impacts on water use and availability: a small change in energy resources could mean significant changes in water use. Integrated planning and management for these two resources is needed. A successful energy transition for Hawaii in the next 15 years will involve precise planning, and strategic decision-making for both energy and water. This research adopts a systems view to evaluate energy-water interdependencies within Hawaii's electrical system, comparing the current fuel mix and projections for energy trends on the islands with the continental United States. A power plant database built from Hawaii-specific utility-scale data combined with national averages for thermoelectric water use reported in the literature provide an overview of Hawaii’s current electrical sector and its water use. This snapshot identifies critical resource management needs and reveals disparities between the electrically detached islands. Scenario analysis of projected change in Hawaii’s electrical sector is used to assess the implications for water use intensity across a range of locally sourced power capacity and generation options. Results indicate that, because it displaces petroleum power production, increases in renewable energies on Hawaii will produce substantial water savings, especially in total operational water withdrawals.Item Evolution of Ligia Isopods in three Geologically Dynamic Regions(2013-09-27) Santamaria Masironi, Carlos AThe oniscidean genus Ligia has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring mainly in rocky supralittoral habitats, although a few species are found in tropical mountain freshwater habitats. The long-distance dispersal potential of the coastal Ligia isopods is very limited, due to a series of biological characteristics, which contributes to a high isolation of their populations. Consistent with this, high levels of allopatric differentiation have been detected for coastal Ligia in different parts of the world, with phylogeographic patterns exhibiting signatures of past geological and oceanographic events. In this dissertation, we used mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences to infer phylogeographic patterns of Ligia isopods in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the region comprised by the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific coast of Colombia and Central America. We also conducted geometric-morphometric analyses to determine whether differences in overall body shape exist between divergent lineages in coastal Ligia from the Hawaiian archipelago and from the region between Central California and Central Mexico, including the Gulf of California. We observed that Ligia populations from the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific coast of Central America and Colombia, as well as those from the Hawaiian archipelago, harbor highly divergent lineages, suggesting that the Ligia species recognized for these regions represent cryptic species complexes. Phylogeographic patterns suggest that passive overwater dispersal has been an important factor shaping the evolutionary history of Ligia in these two regions. Geometric morphometric approaches uncovered morphological differences between highly divergent genetic lineages of Ligia isopods in the Hawaiian archipelago and the region between Central California and Central Mexico, including the Gulf of California. Large overlap in body shapes occur, however, suggesting overall body shape evolution is somewhat constrained and this character is unreliable for taxonomic distinction of these lineages.Item Freshwater on the island of Maui : system interactions, supply, and demand(2011-05) Grubert, Emily; Webber, Michael E., 1971-; Passalacqua, Paola; King, CareyThis work is part of a broader, multi-year investigation of Maui Island’s freshwater resources. Maui Island faces multiple resource constraints, including water, land, energy, and capital, and these resource constraints could become relevant over the next forty years. Not only does Maui face potential changes to its water and other systems due to external factors beyond its control, like anthropogenic and other climate changes, but Maui also could make developmental choices that will impact how its resource systems interact. In particular, this work looks at Maui’s freshwater systems as they relate to energy, waste, and environmental systems. This report provides a foundation for future scenario analysis on the island that will aim to characterize potential synergies and hazards of choices like increased food production, local fuel production, and increased use of renewable energies.Item Going solar in paradise : solar water heaters on the island of Hawaii(2006-05) Murray, Julie Marie; Oden, MichaelEnergy efficient technologies and renewable energy technologies are becoming less of a novelty in the American energy mix. These technologies offer the promise of a decreased dependence on foreign oil, considerable savings of energy bills, and protections for the environment. Despite the many potential benefits, these technologies face many barriers to adoption. The lack of renewable energy technologies and energy efficient technologies is particularly damaging in the State of Hawaii, where 90% of energy needs are met with imported fossil fuels. This report focuses on the current energy policies in Hawaii and the barriers to the incorporation of renewable energy technologies and energy efficient technologies, specifically solar water heaters.Item Hawaiian hula as commercial performance(Texas Tech University, 2004-05) Sitzer, Kelly DawnNot availableItem Investigation of the upper mantle beneath the Hawaiian Island chain using PP-precursors(2013-08) Rogers, Kenneth D.; Gurrola, Harold; Nagihara, Seiichi; Karlsson, Haraldur R.The Hawaiian hotspot is of great geological significance, but data collection in the area can be challenging due to the water depth around these islands. By using PP bounce point data, with receivers in mainland United States, we analyze the area with a greater wealth of data than possible using data collected locally. The increased amount of data, in addition to new beamforming and iterative deconvolution techniques, has increased the frequency content in PP precursor data, from around the traditional 0.01 Hz to above 5 Hz, enabling us to image to shallower depths and thinner layers than previously possible. Profiles of stacked PP precursors across the island chain were produced along perpendicular lines. Data were stacked in bins 1˚ along the profiles and 4˚ perpendicular to the profile (parallel to the island chain). An additional profile was produced some 10˚ away from the island chain as a control group. The control group shows pairs of high- and low-velocity horizons in the mantle. These may be the base and top of shear zones. These horizons are strongly disrupted near the Hawaiian Island chain. In the lithosphere, low velocity zones are more abundant to the south of the island chain but are less common on the north side. If these indicate melt, the low velocity zones may be blocked by the Islands, which are sinking into the lithosphere. As this study and other recent work imply the hot spot is more active to the southwest of the island chain than to the north, the island chain itself may be causing the crust to warp downward into the mantle and could act as a dam to melt migrating to the north. Furthermore, we believe that the island’s weight downwarping the lithosphere causes a crack to propagate out past the youngest island, which also acts as a dam that keeps most of the melt to the southwest of the island chain.Item Maui's freshwater : status, allocation, and management for sustainability(2010-08) Grubert, Emily; Webber, Michael E., 1971-; Pierce, Suzanne; Jablonowski, ChristopherThe water system on Maui Island in Hawaii is an integral part of the island’s infrastructure, affecting energy, agriculture, waste, and domestic systems. Both the built and the natural water systems are likely to be altered over the coming decades. Maui’s two major industries are agriculture and tourism, which compete for water and land resources. Maui faces high costs for food and fuel it must import, and agricultural efforts might shift from plantation-scale monocropping to energy production or diversified agriculture for food. Simultaneously, land use changes (like deforestation), climate change, and cyclical droughts affect Maui’s freshwater supply. Water planning and management based on careful assessment can be valuable tools for a community expecting that water will become increasingly scarce. Since water plays a large role in many other systems, choices about water allocation and use can help the island move toward solutions of multiple problems at once, including energy scarcity, coastal protection, and financial health. This work provides a dynamic snapshot of Maui’s current built and natural water systems, then analyzes two potential water management actions: pumped storage hydroelectric facilities built on existing reservoirs and use of secondary treated wastewater to irrigate biomass for power. Based on cost estimates and alternative solutions, neither of these applications are currently judged viable.Item Processing innovations to improve PP precursor analysis and increase frequency content of studies in the Mid-Pacific(2012-08) Duncan, Gregory; Gurrola, Harold; Yoshinobu, Aaron S.; Zhou, Hua-weiPP wave data is gathered for bouncepoints primarily in the Pacific Ocean using earthquakes of magnitude 6.2 or greater occurring along the Mariana/Izu-Bonin subduction region, as well as Tonga and the Indonesia plate. The data is composed of midpoints that fall in the Mid-Pacific with a particular concentration under Hawaii. Data is recorded in seven different seismic arrays in the United States but is mainly from the Transportable Array (TA) and USArray (US) stations. The data underwent rigorous cleaning before final analysis. On top of the normal aspects, such as rotating and cutting of data, we utilized a beaming technique on both sides. On the receiver end, it’s simply called beamforming; on the source end it is called simultaneous iterative deconvolution (SID). This cleaning technique is utilized to see how well PP waves can be used in long offset mantle discontinuity studies. Of particular interest to our study are the 410, 520, and 660 discontinuities, which react differently to thermal anomalies such as subducting slabs or hotspots. The dataset had very good ray coverage around Hawaii but dispersed a bit on the outskirts of the dataset, particularly in the southern region. The double-beaming technique is applied to the PP data. Frequency content is increased to as high as 1 Hz while still getting legitimate results. SID was able to get frequencies as high as 4 Hz. 1 Hz is significantly higher than frequencies typically used in these types of studies, which is around .1 Hz. Though frequency was attempted as high as 8 Hz, it was found that PP waves had too little of these upper frequencies. The high frequencies were wiped out during waterlevel deconvolution, a method used to help stabilize the data by filling spectral nulls in frequency with white noise. The improved PP method allows interpretation of both cubes around Hawaii as well as a long line that intersects the majority of the data. Overall, the Tahiti and Hawaii hotspots are analyzed, as well as the subduction zone at the Southern Explorer Ridge (SEXP). It is found that in the Tahiti region, the 410 and 520 both deepen significantly due to the high thermal anomalies associated with hotspots. Hawaii, however, does not display these deepened horizons. This implies thermal anomalies associated with the Tahiti hotspot could be thermally stronger than the Hawaii hotspot. A double 520 can be seen in regions around Hawaii in datasets that have not been ocean corrected. Discontinuities seem stronger in non-ocean-corrected datasets overall, probably due to receiver function familiarity. Farther north, we anticipate a deepening of the 410 associated with the data line moving to continental crust, but it is difficult to decipher. We also look for a rise in this region for the subducting slab, but it is difficult to see due to resolution on the extremities of the dataset. The 410 may rise at this point, but it could possibly be an inaccurate interpretation.Item Storage, fractionation and melt-crust interaction of basaltic magmas at oceanic and continental settings(2016-08) Gao, Ruohan; Lassiter, John C.; Barnes, Jaime D; Gardner, James E; Hesse, Marc A; Loewy, Staci; Clague, David AThis study uses phenocrysts and xenoliths to examine storage, fractionation and melt-crust interaction of basaltic magmas. Gabbroic xenoliths from Hualalai Volcano, Hawaii include fragments of lower oceanic crust (LOC) cumulates. Oxygen and Sr isotope compositions of these gabbros indicate minimal hydrothermal alteration. Magmas from fast ridges fractionate on average at shallower and less variable depths and undergo more homogenization than those from fast ridges. These features suggest a long-lived shallow magma lens exists at fast ridges, which limits the penetration of hydrothermal circulation into the LOC. Anorthitic plagioclases in these LOC gabbros therefore unlikely derive from hydrous melting or hydrothermal replacement. The strongly positive correlation between plagioclase anorthite content and whole rock Re concentration of Hualalai LOC gabbros may place further constraints on the origin of anorthitic plagioclase at mid-ocean ridges. Most Hualalai xenoliths represent Hualalai melt-derived cumulates. MELTS modeling and equilibration temperatures suggest Hualalai shield-stage-related gabbros crystallized within local LOC. Therefore, a deep magma reservoir existed within or at the base of the LOC during the shield stage of Hualalai Volcano. Melt–crust interaction between Hawaiian melts and Pacific crust partially overprinted Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope compositions of LOC-derived gabbros. The modified isotope compositions of Pacific LOC (and likely lithospheric mantle) are similar to Hawaiian rejuvenated-stage lavas. Although minor assimilation of Pacific crust by Hawaiian melts cannot be excluded, the range of oxygen isotope compositions recorded in Hawaiian magmas cannot be generated by assimilation of the in situ LOC. The Papoose Canyon (PC) monogenetic eruption sequence in the Big Pine volcanic field, California displays temporal-compositional variations indicating mixing of two distinct melts. PC phenocrysts and xenoliths derive from melt that is more fractionated and enriched than PC lavas. Pressure constraints suggest these phenocrysts and xenoliths crystallized at mid-crust depths. PC lavas also show evidence of crustal contamination. Therefore, PC phenocrysts and xenoliths likely derive from early PC melts that ponded, fractionated and assimilated continental crust in mid-crustal sills, which were mixed with more primitive melts as the eruption began. The temporal-compositional trends thus reflect gradual exhaustion of these sills over time.Item The epidemiology and etiology of visitor injuries in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park(Texas A&M University, 2006-04-12) Heggie, Travis WadeThe U.S. National Park Service has recognized visitor health and safety as an important component of protected area management. Despite this recognition, research investigating visitor health and safety issues in national parks is lacking. In order to improve the understanding of the factors contributing to visitor injuries, the purpose of this study was to: 1) identify the distribution of injuries in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, 2) examine the relationship between visitor factors and the severity of visitor injuries in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, 3) examine the relationship between environmental factors and the severity of visitor injuries in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and 4) determine the effectiveness of sign placement and indirect supervision on controlling visitor injuries in the park. Data for this study consisted of 5,947 incident reports recorded in Hawaii Volcanoes between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 2002. The results found that even though 26% of the injuries in the park occur in frontcountry regions, 53% of all visitor injuries took place at the Eruption Site. As well, 130 of the 268 (49%) fatalities occurred on roadway environments and 1,179 of the 1,698 (69%) severe injuries occurred at the Eruption Site. Logistic regression analysis used to examine the relationship between visitor factors and injury severity in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park found that female visitors, visitors wearing minimal footwear and clothing, and visitors carrying no flashlight and minimal drinking water are factors significantly associated with fatal injuries. Visitors wearing minimal footwear and clothing, visitors carrying no flashlight and minimal drinking water, visitors entering restricted areas, visitors with pre-existing health conditions, and visitors aged 50-59 years of age are factors significantly associated with severe injuries. Logistic regression analysis found no built environment factor to be significantly associated with visitor fatalities or severe injuries. However, darkness and rugged terrain were significantly associated with visitor fatalities. Chi-square tests of independence found the combined treatment of sign placement and indirect supervision to have no effect on reducing the frequency and severity of visitor injuries at the Eruption Site.