The University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa’s celebrated its 15th anniversary on October 25, marking a decade and a half of cutting-edge discovery and sustainable design.

Opened in 2010, the 26,997-square-foot facility has become a hub for groundbreaking research on marine microbes—organisms that play a vital role in the health of the planet’s oceans and climate. The state-of-the-art building houses laboratories, offices and a conference center designed to foster collaboration among scientists across disciplines and time zones. Its 50-seat auditorium supports video conferencing and live webcasting, connecting researchers around the world.

In 2012, C-MORE Hale was the first research laboratory building in �鶹��ý to achieve LEED Platinum certification for environmental design. The facility incorporates energy-efficient systems and low-flow plumbing. It also features smart lighting controls and water recycling technologies that reduce potable water use by nearly half. The building’s innovative design earned multiple awards, including the Kukulu Hale Award for new commercial projects in 2011.

Leading research in microbial oceanography

David M. Karl, C-MORE’s founding director, member of the National Academy of Sciences and a professor of at UH Mānoa, was instrumental in securing the 10-year, $36.8 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant in 2006 that led to its establishment as an NSF Science and Technology Center. The center unites specialists in biology, chemistry, oceanography and engineering from six partner institutions. Together, these teams investigate the structure, diversity and metabolic function of marine microbes—from those that use sunlight to generate energy to others that recycle organic matter and drive global nutrient cycles.

Beyond the facility itself, Karl and C-MORE have positioned UH Mānoa as a global leader in microbial oceanography by successfully establishing a link between molecular-level biology and large-scale ocean processes. His pioneering research on marine microbes and their role in global biogeochemical cycles has shaped modern understanding of how ocean life regulates Earth’s climate. Today, Karl continues to play a key role in advancing microbial oceanography worldwide.

“The opportunities that have been sustained by the investment in C-MORE Hale have put �鶹��ý on the map of ocean research,” Karl said. “UH is now recognized as one of the top institutions in the world to study microbial oceanography, and we are also training the next generation of leaders. The future is today.”

Modeling the future of Earth’s oceans

C-MORE’s integrated research program is organized around four themes: microbial biodiversity, metabolism and nutrient flow, remote and continuous sensing of ocean processes, and ecosystem modeling and prediction. This approach allows scientists to explore how marine microorganisms influence climate, carbon storage and energy transfer within ocean ecosystems. The center’s work has advanced predictive models of how marine environments respond to environmental change, establishing UH Mānoa as a key contributor to global ocean science.

“C-MORE Hale encompasses all the success in microbial oceanography and David Karl is the founder for microbial oceanography,” UH Mānoa Interim Provost Vassilis L. Syrmos said. “He has brought funding—tens of millions of dollars to support this from the National Science Foundation, from the Moore Foundation, so private, public, federal, state, you name it. It is an unbelievable project. He has created a program that is second to none, not only here in �鶹��ý and in the continent, but in the world.”

Karl was instrumental in the establishment of an open ocean time-series, called the �鶹��ý Ocean Time-Series, as a sentinel for observing the effects of climate on the structure and function of microbial communities. C-MORE’s long-term research station, , located about 60 miles north of Oʻahu, was designated a Milestones in Microbiology Site by the American Society for Microbiology in 2015. The recognition honored UH’s historic contributions to understanding marine microbial life and its role in maintaining planetary habitability.

Building �鶹��ý’s future in ocean science

In addition to its research mission, C-MORE supports education and outreach programs that inspire future ocean scientists and engage the public in microbial ecology. These efforts span from pre-college curricula and teacher training to graduate and postdoctoral research opportunities, helping to strengthen the next generation of oceanographers.

C-MORE Hale’s naming under the Daniel K. Inouye Legacy Program honors the late senator’s lifelong commitment to advancing science and education in �鶹��ý.

During C-MORE Hale’s 15th anniversary, many students and staff are aboard the R/V Kilo Moana, a 186-foot UH Mānoa research vessel that supports the center’s oceanographic missions by serving as a mobile platform for sampling, experiments and data collection at sea. Karl said a formal celebration to mark the milestone is planned for later this fall.

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere enters the ocean at the surface and has been increasing the acidity of Pacific waters since the beginning of the industrial revolution more than 200 years ago. A new study, led by University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa , revealed that the ocean is acidifying even more rapidly below the surface in the open waters of the North Pacific near �鶹��ý. Their discovery was published in the .

“Ocean acidification has far‐reaching consequences for ocean biology and the global climate,” said Lucie Knor, lead author of the study and postdoctoral researcher in the UH Mānoa (SOEST). “We expected some indicators of ocean acidification to be changing more rapidly below the surface, because that was what some global studies have previously discovered, but we were very surprised that this was true for every single ocean acidification indicator.”

Knor and co-authors analyzed a 35‐year record of ocean carbon measurements made by the �鶹��ý Ocean Time-series program throughout the entire water column—from the surface to nearly 3 miles deep—at the open ocean field site 60 miles north of Oʻahu at Station ALOHA.

They found that in all layers, there are increases of carbon from natural decomposition of sinking organisms. In some layers, accelerated acidification is associated with fresher and colder waters.

“Deeper waters are already naturally quite acidic in the North Pacific, so quickly increasing acidity could negatively impact plankton species and other organisms that live below the surface,” said Knor. “In the long run, these changes in ocean chemistry also make it harder for the ocean to keep taking up more CO_₂ from the atmosphere.”

Concern over heat waves, acidity

In the past decade or so, there has been an onslaught of marine heat waves associated with unusual conditions in the ocean and atmosphere and strong, multi‐year El Niño events. Researchers, fisheries managers, and coral conservationists are concerned with the combined impacts of marine heat waves and ocean acidity events.

Subsurface waters at Station ALOHA are formed farther north in the Pacific. Changes in seawater properties impacted by evolving environmental conditions in other areas of the North Pacific are then transported by ocean currents into the deeper layers of the ocean around �鶹��ý.

“We illustrate that regional-scale changes in source water chemistry and circulation are substantial drivers of the subsurface intensification of ocean acidification around �鶹��ý,” said Christopher Sabine, co-author of the article and SOEST oceanography professor.

Currently, the research team is investigating the carbon specifically from human-made sources in the water column at Station ALOHA and how that is changing over time in different layers.

This week’s UH News Image of the Week is from University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz�’s Kelsey Maloney, visiting researcher program coordinator at the .

Maloney shared, “HOT-346: A sunset sediment trap recovery on a Cruise aboard the Kilo Moana. Location is Station ALOHA. People in the photo are Blake Watkins (HOT) and Benjamin Duncan (OTG). ”

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The is No. 91 out of the top 633 research institutions in the U.S. and No. 59 out of the top 410 public universities, according to the latest , which measures research and development federal expenditures across a variety of disciplines.

The following disciplines at UH ����ԴDz� placed in the nation’s top 10%, according to the latest available data from FY 2022:

• Ocean sciences and marine sciences: No. 7 out of 396 (top 2%)
• Astronomy and astrophysics: No. 13 out of 493 (top 3%)
• Geological and earth sciences: No. 15 out of 396 (top 4%)
• Computer and information sciences: No. 27 out of 484 (top 6%)
• Atmospheric science and meteorology: No. 41 out of 396 (top 10%)
• Social Work: No. 47 out of 460 (top 10%)

UH ����ԴDz� is also in the top 11% in agricultural sciences (No. 38 out of 332) and electrical, electronic, and communications engineering (No. 43 out of 388).

“The data shows that in a highly competitive environment, the federal government recognizes the expertise here at UH ����ԴDz� by funding our research across multiple disciplines,” UH ����ԴDz� Provost Michael Bruno said. “It underscores our continued success in fostering a dynamic research environment, attracting top-tier faculty and students, and further establishing ourselves as a hub for cutting-edge research to serve the people of �鶹��ý and the world.”

UH ����ԴDz� is a global leader in a wide range of disciplines, including earth and environmental sciences, sustainability, climate, food systems and the health sciences. Several examples of UH ����ԴDz� projects that attracted the attention of funders:

• In 1988, the �鶹��ý Ocean Time-series (HOT) was established with support from the National Science Foundation to study changes in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. After nearly 350 expeditions to station ALOHA, the 35-year time-series record is still going strong. Read more about the HOT program on UH News.
• A UH ����ԴDz� student-led team was selected to develop a small research satellite for the NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative planned to launch between 2024–27. Read more about the project.
• Kamaʻehuakanaloa (formerly ��ōʻ���� Seamount), a submarine Hawaiian volcano located about 20 miles off the south coast of �鶹��ý Island, has erupted at least five times in the last 150 years, according to new research led by Earth scientists at UH ����ԴDz�. Read more about this research.

“This achievement is a testament to the unwavering dedication of our faculty, staff and students who continue to elevate UH ����ԴDz� as a beacon of excellence, propelling �鶹��ý to the forefront of cutting-edge research and innovation,” UH ����ԴDz� Interim Vice Provost for Research and Scholarship Christopher Sabine said. “The entire state should take pride in our collective commitment to advancing knowledge and contributing to the broader scientific community.”

Record extramural funding

UH brought in a record high of $515.9 million for FY 2023 in extramural funding, $10.9 million more than the previous record of $505 million set in FY 2022. UH ����ԴDz�, the flagship campus of UH’s 10 campus system, led the extramural funding amount with $342.7 million.

Extramural funding is external investments from entities such as the federal government, industry and non-profit organizations that support research and training activities conducted by university faculty and staff. Extramural projects support research and innovation that help to increase knowledge and provide solutions to improve quality of life.

UH ����ԴDz�, the flagship campus of the UH 10-campus system is classified as one of only 146 R1 research universities in the nation by the Carnegie Foundation, indicating “very high research activity.”

This week’s UH News Image of the Week is from the University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz�’s Fernando Santiago-Mandujano, an oceanography research associate in the .

Santiago-Mandujano shared: “Eleanor Bates and Blake Watkins preparing for a night water-sampler deployment onboard the UH Research Vessel Kilo Moana during a recent cruise of the (HOT) project. Eleanor is a PhD student at the UH in a project to quantify Iron turnover in the upper ocean. The HOT project has been conducting near-monthly cruises to Station ALOHA, 80 miles north of Oʻahu for more than 33 years, studying the hydrography and biogeochemical variability in the water column at this site.”

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Clear evidence that marine phytoplankton are much more resilient to future climate change than previously thought is the focus of a study published in by an international team of scientists, including oceanography professor David Karl.

“Knowing how marine algae will respond to global warming and to associated decline of nutrients in upper ocean waters is crucial for understanding the long-term habitability of our planet,” said Karl.

Combining data from the long-term at UH Mānoa with new climate model simulations conducted on one of South Korea’s fastest supercomputers, the scientists revealed that a mechanism, known as nutrient uptake plasticity, allows marine algae to adapt and cope with nutrient-poor ocean conditions that are expected to occur over the next decades in response to global warming of the upper ocean.

Phytoplankton are tiny algae that drift at the ocean’s surface and form the basis of the marine food web. While photosynthesizing, these algae absorb nutrients (for example, phosphate and nitrate), take up dissolved carbon dioxide, and release oxygen, which makes up about 50% of the oxygen that we breathe.

Global warming affects the upper layers of the ocean more than the deeper layers. Earlier studies suggested that the expected future depletion of nutrients near the surface would lead to a substantial reduction of ocean’s phytoplankton production with widespread and potentially catastrophic effects on both marine ecosystems and climate.

A new analysis of the upper ocean phytoplankton data from the �鶹��ý Ocean Time (HOT)-series program shows that productivity can be sustained, even in very nutrient-depleted conditions. HOT is an ocean measurement program to establish and maintain deep-water hydrostations for observing and interpreting physical and biogeochemical variability.

“Under such conditions individual phytoplankton cells can substitute phosphorus with sulfur. On a community level, one might see further shifts towards taxa that require less phosphorus,” said Karl, who is also co-founder of the HOT-series program.

Further supporting evidence for phytoplankton plasticity (adjustment to different environmental conditions) comes from the fact that in subtropical regions, where nutrient concentrations in the surface waters are low, algae take up less phosphorus per amount of carbon stored in their cells, as compared to the global average.

Plasticity affects productivity

To study how this unique metabolic “hack” will impact global ocean productivity over the next few decades, the team ran a series of climate model simulations with the Community Earth System model on their supercomputer Aleph. By turning off the phytoplankton plasticity in their model, the authors reproduced previous model results of a decline in global productivity by about 8%. However, when turning on the plasticity parameter in their model, in a way that captures the observations near �鶹��ý for the past three decades, the computer simulation reveals an increase in global productivity of up to 5% until the end of this century.

“Regionally, however, these future productivity differences can be much higher, reaching up to 200% in subtropical regions,” said Eun Young Kwon, first author of the study and a researcher at the IBS Center for Climate Physics at Pusan National University, South Korea.

With this extra productivity boost, the ocean can also take up more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and eventually sequester it below the ocean’s surface.

Phytoplankton not immune to climate change

“Even though our study demonstrates the importance of biological buffering of global-scale ecological changes, this does not imply that phytoplankton are immune to human induced climate change. For instance, worsening ocean acidification will reduce the calcification rates of certain types of phytoplankton, which can lead to large-scale shifts in ecosystems,” warned Kwon.

These factors are neither well understood nor represented in climate models.

“Future Earth system models need to use improved observationally based representations of how phytoplankton respond to multiple stressors, including warming and ocean acidification. This is necessary to predict the future of marine life on our planet,” said Axel Timmermann, study co-author and director of the IBS Center for Climate Physics.

This week’s Image of the Week is from the University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz� (WHOTS).

�鶹��ý Institute for Marine Biology Visiting Researcher Program Coordinator Kelsey Maloney shared this image: “Tully Rohrer waiting for the deployment of the WHOTS-18 mooring at . WHOTS is the Woods Hole – (HOT) site. This is a joint project between the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology’s HOT program and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute upper ocean processes team. We have been doing this project for 18 years, and it’s still going strong with our commitment to understanding the ocean around us.”

to be considered for �鶹��ýNews Image of the Week.

Station ALOHA is the focal point of a range of oceanographic studies conducted over time to study trends of the greater North Pacific Ocean. Station ALOHA was established in 1988 and stands for “A Long-term Oligotrophic Habitat Assessment” (ALOHA).

The most extended form is HOT in which scientists from UH conduct 4 day research cruises to the site almost monthly. Read more about the 300th HOT scientific expedition.

Want to get in on the action? The next UH News Image of the Week could be yours! Submit a photo, drawing, painting, digital illustration of a project you are working on, a moment from a field research outing or a beautiful and/or interesting shot of a scene on your campus. It could be a class visit during which you see an eye-catching object or scene.

Please include a brief description of the image and its connection to your campus, class assignment or other UH connection. By submitting your image, you are giving UH News permission to publish your photo on the UH News website and UH social media accounts. The image must be your original work, and anyone featured in your image needs to give consent to its publication.

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A reception was held on the research vessel Kaʻimikai-O-Kanalo (“Heavenly Searcher of the Seas of Kanaloa”) just before she was sold this fall. Affectionately known to many as the K-O-K, the ship joined the fleet of UH marine expeditionary research vessels on January 15, 1994. Since then, K-O-K has been used across the Pacific Ocean on a variety of missions that included submersible operations, deployment of deep-sea moorings, hydrographic surveys and studies of marine biology, chemistry and climate change.

The original vessel was built by Mangrove Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Texas, in 1979 and was used for more than a decade for oil and gas exploration. Starting in 1992, UH oceanographer and director of the (HURL), Alex Malahoff, worked tirelessly to acquire and reconfigure this 185-foot offshore supply vessel to serve as a support ship for HURL’s two human-occupied submersibles, Makaliʻi and Pisces V, the remotely-operated vehicle RC V-150. After the vessel Makaliʻi was retired, K-O-K also supported the submersible Pisces IV.

Attendees at the reception included Beverly Malahoff, who christened the reconfigured R/V Kaʻimikai-O-Kanaloa when she emerged from Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Co. as a versatile 223–foot oceanographic research vessel with a cruising speed of 10 knots, a 15,000 nautical mile range, 50–day endurance, and space for 14 crew members and 19 scientists. The approximately $5 million conversion was funded by the state of �鶹��ý and NOAA, with the state holding the ship’s title.

K-O-K’s greatest accomplishments

K-O-K facilitated research in Hawaiian waters and across the Pacific Ocean by scientists from UH and around the world. Some of K-O-K’s greatest accomplishments using the HURL submersibles include , long-term monitoring of the changes and growth of Loʻihi seamount off �鶹��ý Island and finding dozens of new species in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

“In addition to enabling important discoveries and ocean monitoring efforts, the local access of K-O-K made available UH’s UNOLSM (University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System) and AGOR (Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research) vessels (previously R/V Moana Wave and now R/V Kilo Moana) for extended circum-Pacific expeditions,” said Brian Taylor, dean of the UH ����ԴDz� .

One of the most consistent users of K-O-K was the (HOT) program. From July 1999 through July 2018, 93 separate HOT cruises to the open-ocean Station ALOHA were conducted aboard K-O-K. The vessel was also used in �鶹��ý for numerous expeditions by the UH and the UH , including the Life Aquatic in the Volcanic Aftermath expedition in July 2018 to explore the effects of the Kīlauea eruption on the marine environment.

After 25 years of scientific voyages for UH, K-O-K was retired following her final expedition in July 2018 on the 304th cruise of the HOT program. In December, K-O-K was towed to Mexico by an ocean tug where she will be recycled and repurposed.

—By Marcie Grabowski

August marks a transition to new leadership for one of the longest-running open ocean research programs in the world. Angelicque White, an oceanography associate professor at the (SOEST) at the , will lead the next chapter of the monumental (HOT) program.

In 1988, with a focus on the biology and chemistry of the open ocean north of the Hawaiian Islands, the HOT program was established by David Karl and Roger Lukas, SOEST oceanography professors. For more than 30 years, the HOT program has provided consistent, long-term observations of physical, biological and chemical properties of the open ocean in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, and has led to many discoveries in marine ecology and ocean and climate sciences.

Ceremony marks leadership change

An August 1 gathering at the UH Marine Center, held prior to the departure of the 314th cruise of the HOT program, commemorated new leadership after three decades. In attendance were Karl and White, past and present HOT faculty, staff and students, the captains and crew of UH research vessels, and SOEST administration.

Speakers addressed the breadth of scientific findings made possible by the program and the educational and personal importance of their involvement in the time-series.

“Science is a team sport, and we have assembled the best team on the planet to address research with great scientific and societal relevance—research that matters!” said Karl, who will remain a HOT co-investigator with James Potemra.

Added White, “Sustained observation of our planet is a moral imperative for our generation and those to come. I am proud to lead this program forward with an incredible team at my side.”

The HOT program receives primary funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation in partnership with the Simons Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and State of �鶹��ý.

See the .

Read more about the HOT program on UH News.

—By Marcie Grabowski

The 30th anniversary of the (HOT) program, based at the (SOEST) at the , is being celebrated with a . This volume of seminal papers from HOT, published by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography on biogeochemistry, ocean physics and plankton ecology, is available for public viewing.

Thirty years ago, on October 30, 1988, a team of scientists from UH established (22°45′N, 158°W) as an open ocean observatory for physical, biogeochemical and ecological investigations. ALOHA is an acronym for A Long‐term Oligotrophic Habitat Assessment, the stated mission of the National Science Foundation‐supported HOT program.

Since then, scientists, engineers, students and technicians from around the world have embarked on more than 300 expeditions to observe and record both natural and human‐induced variations in ecosystem structure and function at this remote open ocean location.

“This presents some of the key scientific discoveries made at Station ALOHA and published in Limnology and Oceanography over the past three decades,” said and , HOT directors, in the of the special volume.

The American Society for Microbiology recently designated Station ALOHA as a Milestones in Microbiology Site, one of only 15 institutions, scientists or locations where significant contributions toward advancing the science of microbiology have been achieved.

See the .

—By Marcie Grabowski