University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa faculty and students were at the forefront of a historic scientific expedition in 1967, using a converted World War II seaplane to unlock the secrets of the tropical Pacific. On board the Tiare Tahiti, researchers including Klaus Wyrtki and graduate student Bob Kendall from the UH Department of Oceanography embarked on one of the most ambitious tropical field experiments ever attempted—the Line Islands Experiment.
The experiment was a first-of-its-kind campaign to produce meteorological and oceanographic data from the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a dynamic region near the equator that plays a key role in shaping global climate. With support from the National Science Foundation and headed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the project united researchers from multiple institutions.
Wyrtki led the oceanographic component, which provided critical observations of water circulation patterns. As Wyrtki later wrote, the mission delivered data on the equatorial undercurrent with a level of detail never previously achieved. The success of the Line Islands Experiment helped establish a new template for field science in remote regions and influenced subsequent programs such as TOGA (Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere). Wyrtki’s observations provided early evidence of equatorial current variability–concepts essential to later El Niño–Southern Oscillation research.
Warplane turned research lab
Reaching the isolated atolls, each more than 850 miles from Honolulu, was a major logistical challenge. Traditional research vessels were too slow, and few aircraft could land without runways. Enter the Kendall family and the Tiare Tahiti, a modified PBY-5A Catalina. Palmyra’s WWII-era runway was overgrown, so the amphibious design of the Catalina allowed for lagoon landings, making it the only aircraft capable of transporting researchers and instruments to the islands. Without it, continuous staffing and instrument deployment would have been impossible.
The aircraft’s chief pilot was Kendall, then a master’s student at UH working with Wyrtki. However, he wasn’t just flying the plane—he was also doing science. As a graduate student, he coordinated oceanographic research and installed ocean current meters, collecting data that informed Wyrtki’s research and Kendall’s own later doctoral work. Kendall’s wife Inge, also a UH graduate student, served as the plane’s primary navigator, her precision helping ensure the safe transport of scientists across thousands of miles of open ocean.
In a letter of acknowledgment, NCAR researchers explained their indebtedness to the Kendalls, “whose aircraft supported the group when the islands were accessible in no other way.”
Shaping modern climate science
The university’s pioneering scientists and a bold experiment in the heart of the Pacific helped transform a warplane into a vessel of discovery, proving that with ingenuity and partnership, even the most remote corners of the world can become laboratories for scientific progress.
