How Do Hurricanes Affect Fisheries in Fiji for Locals?
Nathalie Aldana – Undergraduate - NSU​

Fiji is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, north-northeast of New Zealand. surrounded by the Koro Sea. As a tropical island, Fiji is visited by many tourists, benefiting their economy with the amount of money being brought in. Natural disasters such as hurricanes leave debris behind in the water and even in the bodies of the seafood that they are going to end up eating, affecting food sources. Hurricanes could economically ruin Fiji, especially because fish is an essential food source for Fijian cuisine. Which leads to the question, how do hurricanes affect Fiji’s main source of food (seafood)? The main factors to consider when searching for the answer to this question are: how often hurricanes appear, the location of the fisheries, the impact of hurricanes in the fisheries, as well as how to achieve the best possible outcome from a hurricane.

Desalination in Spain
Mitch Doubrava - Undergraduate - UNR

Spain often experiences irregular rainfall and regular droughts and to make sure the taps stay on, the country has embraced seawater desalination as an important water source. Starting in the sixties on the Canary Islands and expanding to the mainland along the Mediterranean Sea, desalination has evolved from energy-intensive thermal methods to more efficient reverse osmosis systems. This paper examines the historical development of Spanish desalination, how it interacts with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, and its environmental impacts. The paper also focuses on the challenges posed by the release of brine and the intake of seawater, both of which affect marine ecosystems through increased salinity, oxygen depletion, and entrainment. The paper also includes Spain’s role in using desalination with solar power and creating subsurface intakes to help clean water intakes. In time, Spain’s experience highlights the need to integrate desalination within a broader sustainability framework that balances technological progress, ecological protection, and energy efficiency. The paper finishes with the idea that while desalination offers resilience in the climate change era, Spain's success in adopting desalination will depend on if it can be environmentally responsible and efficient.

Why We Should Study Paleotsunamis in Northern Japan
Kasai Janvier – Undergraduate - NSU

This study demonstrates the importance of constructing the history of paleotsunamis because of the massive flooding effects tsunamis have. Paleotsunami is the historical term for tsunamis that have happened in the past. The earthquakes and the tsunamis that are created occur typically around subduction zones because of the stress release in plate boundaries. The subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Okhotsk Plate at the Japan Trench makes Japan an ideal place to study paleotsunamis. This study focuses along the Sanriku coast including Noda in northern Japan and its topography. Even though several paleotsunami studies have been conducted, their age correlation has not been constructed well, due to the variations in the ages of tsunami deposits.
Using methods like stratigraphy and calibrated 14C ages from peer-reviewed papers will secure continuity of the geological record. Studying the geological record of past tsunamis in the present can help us prepare for tsunamis in the future.