![\"Mountain](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/honolulu-mount-kaala-2-a.jpg\")
Mount Ka\u02bbala with fog<\/p>\nReading time: 2 minutesMount Ka\u02bbala with fog<\/p>\n
An innovative University of Hawai\u02bbi research team is using trail cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) to better understand how much fog contributes water to native ecosystems and groundwater recharge. Led in part by Honolulu Community College Professor John DeLay, the project focuses on Mount Ka\u02bbala, O\u02bbahu\u2019s highest peak and an essential watershed.<\/p>\n
![\"man](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/honolulu-mount-kaala-3-300x169.jpg\")
John DeLay<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can keep the project going long enough, we might be able to detect a change in the lifting condensation level\u2014affecting the extent of cloud and fog at the canopy level,\u201d DeLay said.<\/p>\n
Recharging the aquifer<\/p>\n
Supported by the UH Office of Innovation and Commercialization, the system has achieved up to 93% accuracy in identifying fog conditions across different sites in both day and night conditions. This allows researchers to build long-term records of fog frequency and examine how moisture patterns vary.<\/p>\n
![\"trail](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/honolulu-mount-kaala-1-300x169.jpg\")
Summit trail camera with temperature and relative humidity sensor<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only is it really important for these ecosystems, which have fragile native species that need a lot of moisture and water, it\u2019s also recharging out water budgets and our aquifer,\u201d said Joel Nicolow, a UH M\u0101noa graduate research assistant in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.<\/p>\n
Turning to AI<\/p>\n
Historically, measuring this critical moisture required highly specialized personnel and expensive, complex equipment. The team turned to technology for a solution.<\/p>\n
![\"Mountain](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/honolulu-mount-kaala-4-300x169.jpg\")
Cloud forest on Mount Ka\u02bbala<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to look at using cameras as a much more scalable, cost-effective approach,\u201d explained researcher Dylan Giardana of the UH M\u0101noa Water Resources Research Center. \u201cWe use a machine learning model to classify all the images that we\u2019re getting from these trail cameras.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their analysis shows that fog frequency jumps dramatically from about 10% at an elevation of 600 meters to 70% at the 1,200-meter summit. Understanding these patterns is essential as climate change and invasive species threaten natural watersheds. Long-term data may also help land managers in adapting conservation strategies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reading time: 2 minutesMount Ka\u02bbala with fog An innovative University of Hawai\u02bbi research team is using trail cameras…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55843,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7068,24,32596,25,4805,32595,6839,32594,32607,32603,32617,12131,32591,32605,32587,32597,32598,32592,2683,32580,32579,32578,32581,249,239,32606,32583,32614,32610,32593,32604,32599,32611,32600,32609,32612,32582,32608,32590,32602,32616,9937,526,134,32588,14687,32585,251,32618,32613,228,32586,227,32615,32584,2454,2185,32601,32589,32619,9370],"class_list":["post-55842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ai","tag-accuracy","tag-ai","tag-aquifer","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-cameras","tag-canopy-level","tag-climate-change","tag-cloud-cover","tag-conservation-strategies","tag-cost-effective","tag-dylan-giardana","tag-ecosystem","tag-ecosystems","tag-elevation","tag-fog","tag-fog-conditions","tag-fog-frequency","tag-groundwater-recharge","tag-hawaii","tag-hawaii-college","tag-hawaii-higher-education","tag-hawaii-university","tag-hcc","tag-honolulu-cc","tag-honolulu-community-college","tag-invasive-species","tag-island-college","tag-joel-nicolow","tag-john-delay","tag-lifting-condensation-level","tag-machine-learning-model","tag-moisture-patterns","tag-mount-kaala","tag-native-species","tag-natural-area-reserve","tag-oahu","tag-oahu-college","tag-precipitation","tag-research-team","tag-scalable","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-summit","tag-sustainability","tag-technology","tag-trail-cameras","tag-uh","tag-uh-community-college","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-manoa-water-resources-research-center","tag-uh-office-of-innovation-and-commercialization","tag-uh-system","tag-uhcc","tag-university-of-hawaii","tag-university-of-hawaii-at-manoa","tag-university-of-hawaii-community-college","tag-video","tag-water","tag-water-budgets","tag-water-future","tag-water-resilience-innovation-challenge","tag-watershed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}