Dr. David Helweg is the Senior Liaison for Insular Relations for the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Center network.
Dave Helweg is the Senior Liaison for Insular Relations for the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Center network. In this position, Dave provides leadership in designing strategic initiatives, developing and expanding partnerships, and identifying the key science support needs of DOI Insular Affairs and partner organizations in the Western Pacific and Caribbean. He also facilitates the production of science products that support the mission of the Office of Insular Affairs to provide technical assistance to the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as the freely associated states of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau under the Compacts of Free Association.
Prior to this position, Dave served as the Director of the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center, headquartered in Hawai’i. Dave is an expert in behavioral biology, bioacoustics, and signal processing, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa in 1993.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., University of Hawaii at Mānoa
Science and Products
Developing satellite-estimated precipitation monthly reports for selected locations in the Republic of the Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (also known as the Marshall Islands) is a nation of more than 30 low-lying atolls and islands, most of which are inhabited, dispersed across an Exclusive Economic Zone over 770,000 square miles in the tropical central north Pacific Ocean. Monitoring environmental conditions for potential drought risk is challenging in such a dispersed island nation, and current
Authors
Gabriel B. Senay, David A. Helweg, Stefanie Kagone, John B. Taylor, Thomas Cecere, Tiare Eastmond, Amy Koch, Kurtis Nelson, Lajikit Rufus
A century of drought in Hawai‘i: Geospatial analysis and synthesis across hydrological, ecological, and socioeconomic scales
Drought is a prominent feature of Hawaiʻi’s climate. However, it has been over 30 years since the last comprehensive meteorological drought analysis, and recent drying trends have emphasized the need to better understand drought dynamics and multi-sector effects in Hawaiʻi. Here, we provide a comprehensive synthesis of past drought effects in Hawaiʻi that we integrate with geospatial analysis of d
Authors
Abby G. Frazier, Christian P. Giardina, Thomas W Giambelluca, Laura Brewington, Yi-Leng Chen, Pao-Shin Chu, Lucas Fortini, David Helweg, Victoria W. Keener, Ryan J Longman, Matthew P Lucas, Alan Mair, Delwyn S. Oki, Julian J Reyes, Stephanie G. Yelenik, Clay Trauernicht
Managing effects of drought in Hawai’i and U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands
How is drought expressed in Hawai‘i & USAPI? Drought is a significant climate feature in Hawai‘i and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI), at times causing severe impacts across multiple sectors. Below average precipitation anomalies are often accompanied by higher than average temperatures and reduced cloud cover. The resulting higher insolation and evapotranspiration can magnify the effec
Authors
Abby G. Frazier, Jonathan Deenik, Neal Fujii, Greg Funderburk, Thomas Giambelluca, Christian Giardina, David A. Helweg, Victoria Keener, Donald Mair, John Marra, Sierra McDaniel, Lenore Ohye, Delwyn S. Oki, Elliott Parsons, Ayron Strauch, Clay Trauernicht
Hawai‘i and U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands
The U.S. Pacific Islands are culturally and environmentally diverse, treasured by the 1.9 million people who call them home. Pacific islands are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts due to their exposure and isolation, small size, low elevation (in the case of atolls), and concentration of infrastructure and economy along the coasts.A prevalent cause of year-to-year changes in climate
Authors
Victoria Keener, David Helweg, Susan Asam, Seema Balwani, Maxine Burkett, Charles Fletcher, Thomas Giambelluca, Zena Grecni, Malia Nobrega-Olivera, Jeffrey Polovina, Gordon Tribble
Report from the workshop on climate downscaling and its application in high Hawaiian Islands, September 16–17, 2015
In the subtropical and tropical Pacific islands, changing climate is predicted to influence precipitation and freshwater availability, and thus is predicted to impact ecosystems goods and services available to ecosystems and human communities. The small size of high Hawaiian Islands, plus their complex microlandscapes, require downscaling of global climate models to provide future projections of g
Authors
David A. Helweg, Victoria Keener, Jeff M. Burgett
The Pacific Islands Climate Science Center five-year science agenda, 2014-2018
From the heights of Mauna Kea on Hawaiʻi Island to the depths of the Mariana Trench, from densely populated cities to sparse rural indigenous communities and uninhabited sandy atolls, the Pacific region encompasses diverse associations of peoples and places that are directly affected by changes to the atmosphere, ocean, and land. The peoples of the Pacific are among the first to observe and experi
Authors
David Helweg, Sarah A.B. Nash, Dan A. Polhemus
Vegetation and Water Monitoring Datasets for selected locations in the Republic of the Marshall Islands from 2017-2022
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is a sovereign Small Island State in the tropical central North Pacific Ocean. RMI is a nation of more than thirty atolls and islands, most of which are inhabited, dispersed across an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) over 2 million square kilometers. This data release contains raster datasets for vegetation and water monitoring including Normalized Differenc
Monthly Satellite-Estimated Precipitation Reports for the Republic of the Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is a nation of more than thirty low-lying atolls and islands, most of which are inhabited, dispersed across an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) over 770,000 square miles in the tropical central North Pacific Ocean. Monitoring environmental conditions for potential drought risk is challenging in such a dispersed Island nation, and current drought hazard produ
Satellite precipitation estimates for selected locations in the Republic of the Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is a sovereign Small Island State in the tropical central North Pacific Ocean. RMI is a nation of more than thirty atolls and islands, most of which are inhabited, dispersed across an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) over 2 million square kilometers. This data release contains files of daily precipitation estimates beginning in 2001 for 23 inhabited sites in
Science and Products
- Publications
Developing satellite-estimated precipitation monthly reports for selected locations in the Republic of the Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (also known as the Marshall Islands) is a nation of more than 30 low-lying atolls and islands, most of which are inhabited, dispersed across an Exclusive Economic Zone over 770,000 square miles in the tropical central north Pacific Ocean. Monitoring environmental conditions for potential drought risk is challenging in such a dispersed island nation, and currentAuthorsGabriel B. Senay, David A. Helweg, Stefanie Kagone, John B. Taylor, Thomas Cecere, Tiare Eastmond, Amy Koch, Kurtis Nelson, Lajikit RufusA century of drought in Hawai‘i: Geospatial analysis and synthesis across hydrological, ecological, and socioeconomic scales
Drought is a prominent feature of Hawaiʻi’s climate. However, it has been over 30 years since the last comprehensive meteorological drought analysis, and recent drying trends have emphasized the need to better understand drought dynamics and multi-sector effects in Hawaiʻi. Here, we provide a comprehensive synthesis of past drought effects in Hawaiʻi that we integrate with geospatial analysis of dAuthorsAbby G. Frazier, Christian P. Giardina, Thomas W Giambelluca, Laura Brewington, Yi-Leng Chen, Pao-Shin Chu, Lucas Fortini, David Helweg, Victoria W. Keener, Ryan J Longman, Matthew P Lucas, Alan Mair, Delwyn S. Oki, Julian J Reyes, Stephanie G. Yelenik, Clay TrauernichtManaging effects of drought in Hawai’i and U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands
How is drought expressed in Hawai‘i & USAPI? Drought is a significant climate feature in Hawai‘i and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI), at times causing severe impacts across multiple sectors. Below average precipitation anomalies are often accompanied by higher than average temperatures and reduced cloud cover. The resulting higher insolation and evapotranspiration can magnify the effecAuthorsAbby G. Frazier, Jonathan Deenik, Neal Fujii, Greg Funderburk, Thomas Giambelluca, Christian Giardina, David A. Helweg, Victoria Keener, Donald Mair, John Marra, Sierra McDaniel, Lenore Ohye, Delwyn S. Oki, Elliott Parsons, Ayron Strauch, Clay TrauernichtHawai‘i and U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands
The U.S. Pacific Islands are culturally and environmentally diverse, treasured by the 1.9 million people who call them home. Pacific islands are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts due to their exposure and isolation, small size, low elevation (in the case of atolls), and concentration of infrastructure and economy along the coasts.A prevalent cause of year-to-year changes in climateAuthorsVictoria Keener, David Helweg, Susan Asam, Seema Balwani, Maxine Burkett, Charles Fletcher, Thomas Giambelluca, Zena Grecni, Malia Nobrega-Olivera, Jeffrey Polovina, Gordon TribbleReport from the workshop on climate downscaling and its application in high Hawaiian Islands, September 16–17, 2015
In the subtropical and tropical Pacific islands, changing climate is predicted to influence precipitation and freshwater availability, and thus is predicted to impact ecosystems goods and services available to ecosystems and human communities. The small size of high Hawaiian Islands, plus their complex microlandscapes, require downscaling of global climate models to provide future projections of gAuthorsDavid A. Helweg, Victoria Keener, Jeff M. BurgettThe Pacific Islands Climate Science Center five-year science agenda, 2014-2018
From the heights of Mauna Kea on Hawaiʻi Island to the depths of the Mariana Trench, from densely populated cities to sparse rural indigenous communities and uninhabited sandy atolls, the Pacific region encompasses diverse associations of peoples and places that are directly affected by changes to the atmosphere, ocean, and land. The peoples of the Pacific are among the first to observe and experiAuthorsDavid Helweg, Sarah A.B. Nash, Dan A. Polhemus - Data
Vegetation and Water Monitoring Datasets for selected locations in the Republic of the Marshall Islands from 2017-2022
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is a sovereign Small Island State in the tropical central North Pacific Ocean. RMI is a nation of more than thirty atolls and islands, most of which are inhabited, dispersed across an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) over 2 million square kilometers. This data release contains raster datasets for vegetation and water monitoring including Normalized DifferencMonthly Satellite-Estimated Precipitation Reports for the Republic of the Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is a nation of more than thirty low-lying atolls and islands, most of which are inhabited, dispersed across an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) over 770,000 square miles in the tropical central North Pacific Ocean. Monitoring environmental conditions for potential drought risk is challenging in such a dispersed Island nation, and current drought hazard produSatellite precipitation estimates for selected locations in the Republic of the Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is a sovereign Small Island State in the tropical central North Pacific Ocean. RMI is a nation of more than thirty atolls and islands, most of which are inhabited, dispersed across an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) over 2 million square kilometers. This data release contains files of daily precipitation estimates beginning in 2001 for 23 inhabited sites in - News