The first permanent director of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Pacific Islands Climate Science Center has been selected.

The U.S. Geological Survey announced last week that David Helweg will be the director of the center, whose headquarters are at the University of Hawaii’s Manoa campus.

The USGS-managed center provides access to the best science available on climate change and other landscape-scale stressors on the nation’s natural and cultural resources.

It’s one of eight regional centers.

The USGS says that climate change challenges for Pacific island communities include freshwater resources, coral reef health and invasive species.

Helweg was previously deputy director of the USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center.