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Coral Reef Project: Hawaiʻi Active

By Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center April 15, 2021

As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, the USGS is working on the Kona (west) coast of Hawaiʻi to evaluate geologic resources at two historical parks.

Coral Reef Project

Overview

Satellite image of an island showing its terrain
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
Satellite image of Hawaiʻi captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on January 26, 2014.

The island of Hawaiʻi, known as the Big Island, is the largest in the Hawaiian Islands chain. Greater than twice the area of the remaining main eight Hawaiian Islands combined, Hawaiʻi encompasses 10,432 sq km (4,028 sq mi). The island was formed from five major volcanoes. The volcano of Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain on Earth, reaching nearly 9 km (5.5 mi) from the seafloor to the summit. Although shorter, Mauna Loa's massive size makes it the largest volcano in the world. Kīlauea, long thought to be part of Mauna Loa, is the only currently active subaerial volcano in the Hawaiian Island chain and is home to Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess.

 

Motivation

Live coral growth on the Big Island is typically limited to scattered aggregate corals on volcanic boulders and pavement. The USGS is working with the National Park Service on the Kona (west) coast of Hawaiʻi to evaluate the geologic resources at Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park, and at Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau (City of Refuge) National Historical Park, including benthic habitat mapping of the nearshore coral ecosystem and nutrient flux from groundwater sources. Other partners involved in this work include the University of Hawaiʻi, Stanford University, and the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The island of Hawaiʻi is just one of the USGS Coral Reef Project's study locations.

Coral Reef Project

Coral head that looks like lettuce sits on sandy bottom in clear blue water and is surrounded by brightly colored fish.
Coral Reef Project

Project Study Locations

A geologic tour of the Hawaiian Islands: Maui...
Study Locations

Coral Reef Facts

Simple illustration of coral anatomy showing tentacles, mouth, polyps, corallium, nenatocysts, zooxanthellae.
Coral Reef Facts
link
Underwater photograph of a shallow, partially sandy reef environment with a 3-legged metal frame holding instruments.

Reef Hydrodynamics and Sediment Processes

As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, the overall objective of this research effort is to better understand how circulation and sediment processes impact coral reefs and their adjacent coastlines.
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

Reef Hydrodynamics and Sediment Processes

As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, the overall objective of this research effort is to better understand how circulation and sediment processes impact coral reefs and their adjacent coastlines.
Learn More
link
Underwater photo of corals taken from a video feed, where the camera displays text on the image like date and location.

Reef Resource Assessments - Planning for the Future

We are mapping and assessing all of the important geologic and oceanographic factors to identify those coral reefs most at risk and those reefs that are potentially the most resilient and the most likely to recover from natural and human-driven impacts.
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

Reef Resource Assessments - Planning for the Future

We are mapping and assessing all of the important geologic and oceanographic factors to identify those coral reefs most at risk and those reefs that are potentially the most resilient and the most likely to recover from natural and human-driven impacts.
Learn More
link
Underwater photo of a shallow coral environment.

Role of Reefs in Coastal Protection

We are combining ocean, engineering, ecologic, social, and economic modeling to provide a high-resolution, rigorous, spatially-explicit valuation of the coastal flood protection benefits provided by coral reefs and the cost effectiveness of reef restoration for enhancing those benefits.
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

Role of Reefs in Coastal Protection

We are combining ocean, engineering, ecologic, social, and economic modeling to provide a high-resolution, rigorous, spatially-explicit valuation of the coastal flood protection benefits provided by coral reefs and the cost effectiveness of reef restoration for enhancing those benefits.
Learn More
link
Cartoon showing the cross-section of a hill near an ocean and the movement of groundwater underneath.

Hydrogeology and Reef Health

As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, we are conducting geophysical and geochemical research to address questions about coastal groundwater-to-reef flow and coral reef health, with the goal of informing management decisions related to planning and implementing activities in priority watershed-coral reef systems.
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

Hydrogeology and Reef Health

As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, we are conducting geophysical and geochemical research to address questions about coastal groundwater-to-reef flow and coral reef health, with the goal of informing management decisions related to planning and implementing activities in priority watershed-coral reef systems.
Learn More
link
Computed tomography scan and photograph of a coral core section, side-by-side.

Climate Change and Land-use Histories

As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, we are developing new and unique oceanographic and environmental archives from coral skeleton records to better understand the compounding effects of land-use and environmental change on coral reef health.
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, 3-D CT Core Imaging Laboratory, Core Preparation and Analysis Laboratory and Sample Repositories, Multi-Sensor Core Logger Laboratory
link

Climate Change and Land-use Histories

As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, we are developing new and unique oceanographic and environmental archives from coral skeleton records to better understand the compounding effects of land-use and environmental change on coral reef health.
Learn More

Hawai'i data sets produced by the Coral Reef Project

Dynamically downscaled future wave projections from SWAN model results for the main Hawaiian Islands

Projected wave climate trends from WAVEWATCH3 model output were used as input for nearshore wave models (for example, SWAN) for the main Hawaiian Islands to derive data and statistical measures (mean and top 5 percent values) of wave height, wave period, and wave direction for the recent past (1996-2005) and future projections (2026-2045 and 2085-2100). Three-hourly global climate model (GCM) wind
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Projected flooding extents and depths based on 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year wave-energy return periods, with and without coral reefs, for the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands,

This data release provides flooding extent polygons (flood masks) and depth values (flood points) based on wave-driven total water levels for 22 locations within the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. For each of the 22 locations there are eight associated flood mask
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Below are publications associated with this project.

Filter Total Items: 24

The value of US coral reefs for flood risk reduction

Habitats, such as coral reefs, can mitigate increasing flood damages through coastal protection services. We provide a fine-scale, national valuation of the flood risk reduction benefits of coral habitats to people, property, economies and infrastructure. Across 3,100 km of US coastline, the top-most 1 m of coral reefs prevents the 100-yr flood from growing by 23% (113 km2), avoiding flooding to 5
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Nearshore water quality and coral health indicators along the west coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi, 2010–2014

Coral reefs worldwide are experiencing rapid degradation in response to climate and land-use change, namely effects of warming sea-surface temperatures, contaminant runoff, and overfishing. Extensive coral bleaching caused by the steady rise of sea-surface temperatures is projected to increase, but our understanding and ability to predict where corals may be most resilient to this effect is limite
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Rigorously valuing the role of U.S. coral reefs in coastal hazard risk reduction

The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by increasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. The protective services of these natural defenses are not assessed in the same rigorous economic terms as artificial defenses, such as seawalls, and therefore often are not considered in decision making. Here we combine engineering, ecologic, geospatial
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Geochemical sourcing of runoff from a young volcanic watershed to an impacted coral reef in Pelekane Bay, Hawaii

Runoff of sediment and other contaminants from developed watersheds threatens coastal ecosystems and services. A sediment geochemical sourcing study was undertaken on a sediment-impacted coral reef flat to identify terrestrial sediment sources and how these changed over time. Geochemical signatures were identified for watershed soils that formed on Hawaiian basaltic and alkalic lavas using relativ
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Rare earth element behavior during groundwater – seawater mixing along the Kona Coast of Hawaii

Groundwater and seawater samples were collected from nearshore wells and offshore along the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii to investigate rare earth element (REE) behavior in local subterranean estuaries. Previous investigations showed that submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is the predominant flux of terrestrial waters to the coastal ocean along the arid Kona Coast of Hawaii. Groundwat
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Groundwater-derived nutrient and trace element transport to a nearshore Kona coral ecosystem: Experimental mixing model results

Study regionThe groundwater influenced coastal waters along the arid Kona coast of the Big Island, Hawai’i.Study focusA salinity-and phase partitioning-based mixing experiment was constructed using contrasting groundwater endmembers along the arid Konacoast of the Big Island, Hawai’i and local open seawater to better understand biogeochemical and physicochemical processes that influence the fate o
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Ground-truthing electrical resistivity methods in support of submarine groundwater discharge studies: Examples from Hawaii, Washington, and California

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is an important conduit that links terrestrial and marine environments. SGD conveys both water and water-borne constituents into coastal waters, where these inflows may impact near-shore ecosystem health and sustainability. Multichannel electrical resistivity techniques have proven to be a powerful tool to examine scales and dynamics of SGD and SGD forcings. H
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

The effectiveness of coral reefs for coastal hazard risk reduction and adaptation

The world’s coastal zones are experiencing rapid development and an increase in storms and flooding. These hazards put coastal communities at heightened risk, which may increase with habitat loss. Here we analyse globally the role and cost effectiveness of coral reefs in risk reduction. Meta-analyses reveal that coral reefs provide substantial protection against natural hazards by reducing wave en
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Coastal circulation and sediment dynamics in Pelekane and Kawaihae Bays, Hawaii--measurements of waves, currents, temperature, salinity, turbidity, and geochronology: November 2010--March 2011

Coral reef communities on the Island of Hawaii have been heavily affected by the construction of Kawaihae Harbor in the 1950s and by subsequent changes in land use in the adjacent watershed. Sedimentation and other forms of land-based pollution have led to declines in water quality and coral reef health over the past two decades (Tissot, 1998). Erosion mitigation efforts are underway on land, and
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Seafloor morphology and coral habitat variability in a volcanic environment: Kaloko-Honokohau National Park, Hawaii, USA

Kaloko–Honokohau National Historical Park (KAHO) is one of three National Park lands along the leeward, west, or Kona, coast of the island of Hawaii, USA. The park includes 596 acres (2.4 km2) of submerged lands and marine resources within its official boundaries. The offshore region of KAHO, part of the insular shelf of the island of Hawaii, comprises a volcanic embayment that extends nearly 3.5
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

From ridge to reef—linking erosion and changing watersheds to impacts on the coral reef ecosystems of Hawai‘i and the Pacific Ocean

Coral reef ecosystems are threatened by unprecedented watershed changes in the United States and worldwide. These ecosystems sustain fishing and tourism industries essential to the economic survival of many communities. Sediment, nutrients, and pollutants from watersheds are increasingly transported to coastal waters, where these contaminants damage corals. Although pollution from watersheds is on
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

The use (and misuse) of sediment traps in coral reef environments: Theory, observations, and suggested protocols

Sediment traps are commonly used as standard tools for monitoring “sedimentation” in coral reef environments. In much of the literature where sediment traps were used to measure the effects of “sedimentation” on corals, it is clear from deployment descriptions and interpretations of the resulting data that information derived from sediment traps has frequently been misinterpreted or misapplied. De
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Below are partners associated with this project.

Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park

Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park

Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site

Stanford University

U.S. National Park Service

University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)

University of Hawai'i