Residents and visitors both revel in Kauai’s lush landscape, and beneath its seascape. However, it’s underwater where things don’t look so healthy. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey put together a detailed picture of the physical environment of the coral reefs at Makua Beach.
As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, the USGS is working on the island of Kauaʻi to identify circulation patterns and a sediment budget for Hanalei Bay to help determine any effects to the coastal marine ecosystem.
Overview
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Geologically the oldest of the main eight Hawaiian Islands, the northernmost island of Kauaʻi has a total area of 142 sq km (552 sq mi). This island receives the most rainfall of the main eight Hawaiian Islands, thus giving its nickname of the Garden Isle. Kauaʻi is surrounded on all sides by a fringing reef, with a reef flat sometimes as wide as 1 km (0.6 mi). The reef is under the influence of high wave energy due to the island's geographic position.
Motivation
In June 2005 the USGS began a partnership with the Hanalei Watershed Hui. In 1998 the Hanalei River was designated as an American Heritage River in order to foster cooperative, community-based efforts for the preservation of the surrounding environment. The Hanalei River Valley is home to numerous taro farms and water quality and useage for irrigation are of concern. In an effort to halt flooding, levees were built along portions of the river, thus leading to increased discharge into Hanalei Bay during storm events. We are working on identifying circulation patterns and a sediment budget for Hanalei Bay to help determine any effects to the coastal marine ecosystem including coral reefs.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Other partners working in the Hanalei watershed area include the University of Hawaiʻi, the State of Hawaiʻi (Department of Health, Department of Land and Natural Resources), and Federal organizations (U.S. Department of Agriculture/Natural Resources Conservation Service, Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency). Their sum total have contributed markedly to our understanding of processes in the watershed.
The Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi is just one of the USGS Coral Reef Project's study locations.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
What's Drifting Beneath Kauai's Ocean?
Residents and visitors both revel in Kauai’s lush landscape, and beneath its seascape. However, it’s underwater where things don’t look so healthy. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey put together a detailed picture of the physical environment of the coral reefs at Makua Beach.
Exploring Causes of Coral Disease
The Hawaiian Islands’ beautiful ocean and beaches attract more than 8.5 million tourists each year. The USGS aims to help Hawaii preserve its underwater natural resources by tracing how oceanography may influence coral disease outbreaks.
The Hawaiian Islands’ beautiful ocean and beaches attract more than 8.5 million tourists each year. The USGS aims to help Hawaii preserve its underwater natural resources by tracing how oceanography may influence coral disease outbreaks.
As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, the USGS is working on the island of Kauaʻi to identify circulation patterns and a sediment budget for Hanalei Bay to help determine any effects to the coastal marine ecosystem.
Overview
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Geologically the oldest of the main eight Hawaiian Islands, the northernmost island of Kauaʻi has a total area of 142 sq km (552 sq mi). This island receives the most rainfall of the main eight Hawaiian Islands, thus giving its nickname of the Garden Isle. Kauaʻi is surrounded on all sides by a fringing reef, with a reef flat sometimes as wide as 1 km (0.6 mi). The reef is under the influence of high wave energy due to the island's geographic position.
Motivation
In June 2005 the USGS began a partnership with the Hanalei Watershed Hui. In 1998 the Hanalei River was designated as an American Heritage River in order to foster cooperative, community-based efforts for the preservation of the surrounding environment. The Hanalei River Valley is home to numerous taro farms and water quality and useage for irrigation are of concern. In an effort to halt flooding, levees were built along portions of the river, thus leading to increased discharge into Hanalei Bay during storm events. We are working on identifying circulation patterns and a sediment budget for Hanalei Bay to help determine any effects to the coastal marine ecosystem including coral reefs.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Other partners working in the Hanalei watershed area include the University of Hawaiʻi, the State of Hawaiʻi (Department of Health, Department of Land and Natural Resources), and Federal organizations (U.S. Department of Agriculture/Natural Resources Conservation Service, Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency). Their sum total have contributed markedly to our understanding of processes in the watershed.
The Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi is just one of the USGS Coral Reef Project's study locations.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
What's Drifting Beneath Kauai's Ocean?
Residents and visitors both revel in Kauai’s lush landscape, and beneath its seascape. However, it’s underwater where things don’t look so healthy. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey put together a detailed picture of the physical environment of the coral reefs at Makua Beach.
Residents and visitors both revel in Kauai’s lush landscape, and beneath its seascape. However, it’s underwater where things don’t look so healthy. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey put together a detailed picture of the physical environment of the coral reefs at Makua Beach.
Exploring Causes of Coral Disease
The Hawaiian Islands’ beautiful ocean and beaches attract more than 8.5 million tourists each year. The USGS aims to help Hawaii preserve its underwater natural resources by tracing how oceanography may influence coral disease outbreaks.
The Hawaiian Islands’ beautiful ocean and beaches attract more than 8.5 million tourists each year. The USGS aims to help Hawaii preserve its underwater natural resources by tracing how oceanography may influence coral disease outbreaks.