Coral Reef Project: Oʻahu Active
As part of the Coral Reef Project, the USGS is working closely with other local groups to investigate poor water quality issues in Maunalua Bay on the southeast coast of Oʻahu.
Overview
Oʻahu encompasses 1,546 sq km (597 sq mi) and is the third largest in the Hawaiian Islands chain. Also known as The Gathering Place, Oʻahu draws more visitors than any of the other Hawaiian Islands. The island was formed from joining of the Waiʻanae and Koʻolau volcanoes. Coral reefs surround the island, although active live coral growth is limited to the leeward sides of the island or in sheltered areas on the windward coasts. Reef structures on the north shore help form the waves that draw surfers worldwide.
Motivation
The USGS is working closely with Mālama Maunalua and the Kewalo Marine Laboratory, as part of the Hawaiʻi Local Action Strategy Plan, to investigate poor water quality issues in Maunalua Bay on the southeast coast of Oʻahu. This coral-lined embayment has seen a dramatic decline in ecosystem health, including sedimentation, invasive algae species, and a reduction in reef fish. A major factor in the decline of ecosystem health is human-induced changes on land, mainly from engineering of natural drainage gulches that have become concrete-lined channels. These channels speed up the flow of storm runoff from the uplands, increasing the discharge of freshwater, sediment and other land-based pollutants to the bay. The USGS has been instrumental in measuring water-column properties in Maunalua Bay, including waves, currents, water levels, temperature, salinity, and turbidity, to provide insight into the transport and fate of these contaminants.
We have also assisted the National Park Service (NPS) with documentation of underwater conditions around the USS Arizona Memorial (see World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument) in Pearl Harbor. Of special concern is the fact that the hull of the USS Arizona is deteriorating and has the potential of releasing more than half a million gallons of fuel oil into the environment. By using the same instrumentation packages that we use to monitor oceanographic conditions on coral reefs, such as currents, waves, temperature and salinity, we can help the NPS get a handle on the physical dynamics surrounding the submerged hull.
Other partners working with the USGS on Oʻahu include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), University of Hawaiʻi, James Cook University, University of California, Santa Cruz, and The Nature Conservancy.
The Hawaiian island of Oʻahu is just one of the USGS Coral Reef Project’s study locations.
O‘ahu data sets produced by the Coral Reef Project
Below are publications associated with this project.
Coastal circulation and sediment dynamics in Maunalua Bay, Oahu, Hawaii: Measurements of waves, currents, temperature, salinity, and turbidity: November 2008-February 2009
Science-Based Strategies for Sustaining Coral Ecosystems
Shelf stratigraphy and the influence of antecedent substrate on Holocene reef development, south Oahu, Hawaii
Summary and preliminary interpretations of USGS cruise A-2-02-HW: Underwater video surveys collected off of Oahu, Molokai, and Maui, Hawaii, June-July 2002
Dynamics of the physical environment at the USS Arizona memorial: 2002-2004
Holocene reef development where wave energy reduces accommodation
El Nino influence on Holocene reef accretion in Hawai'i
New mapping techniques help assess the health of Hawaii's coral reefs
- Overview
As part of the Coral Reef Project, the USGS is working closely with other local groups to investigate poor water quality issues in Maunalua Bay on the southeast coast of Oʻahu.
Overview
Oʻahu encompasses 1,546 sq km (597 sq mi) and is the third largest in the Hawaiian Islands chain. Also known as The Gathering Place, Oʻahu draws more visitors than any of the other Hawaiian Islands. The island was formed from joining of the Waiʻanae and Koʻolau volcanoes. Coral reefs surround the island, although active live coral growth is limited to the leeward sides of the island or in sheltered areas on the windward coasts. Reef structures on the north shore help form the waves that draw surfers worldwide.
Motivation
The USGS is working closely with Mālama Maunalua and the Kewalo Marine Laboratory, as part of the Hawaiʻi Local Action Strategy Plan, to investigate poor water quality issues in Maunalua Bay on the southeast coast of Oʻahu. This coral-lined embayment has seen a dramatic decline in ecosystem health, including sedimentation, invasive algae species, and a reduction in reef fish. A major factor in the decline of ecosystem health is human-induced changes on land, mainly from engineering of natural drainage gulches that have become concrete-lined channels. These channels speed up the flow of storm runoff from the uplands, increasing the discharge of freshwater, sediment and other land-based pollutants to the bay. The USGS has been instrumental in measuring water-column properties in Maunalua Bay, including waves, currents, water levels, temperature, salinity, and turbidity, to provide insight into the transport and fate of these contaminants.
We have also assisted the National Park Service (NPS) with documentation of underwater conditions around the USS Arizona Memorial (see World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument) in Pearl Harbor. Of special concern is the fact that the hull of the USS Arizona is deteriorating and has the potential of releasing more than half a million gallons of fuel oil into the environment. By using the same instrumentation packages that we use to monitor oceanographic conditions on coral reefs, such as currents, waves, temperature and salinity, we can help the NPS get a handle on the physical dynamics surrounding the submerged hull.
Other partners working with the USGS on Oʻahu include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), University of Hawaiʻi, James Cook University, University of California, Santa Cruz, and The Nature Conservancy.
- Science
The Hawaiian island of Oʻahu is just one of the USGS Coral Reef Project’s study locations.
- Data
O‘ahu data sets produced by the Coral Reef Project
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 20Coastal circulation and sediment dynamics in Maunalua Bay, Oahu, Hawaii: Measurements of waves, currents, temperature, salinity, and turbidity: November 2008-February 2009
High-resolution measurements of waves, currents, water levels, temperature, salinity and turbidity were made in Maunalua Bay, southern Oahu, Hawaii, during the 2008–2009 winter to better understand coastal circulation, water-column properties, and sediment dynamics during a range of conditions (trade winds, kona storms, relaxation of trade winds, and south swells). A series of bottom-mounted instrAuthorsCurt D. Storlazzi, M. Katherine Presto, Joshua B. Logan, Michael E. FieldScience-Based Strategies for Sustaining Coral Ecosystems
Coral ecosystems and their natural capital are at risk. Greenhouse gas emissions, overfishing, and harmful land-use practices are damaging our coral reefs. Overwhelming scientific evidence indicates that the threats are serious, and if they are left unchecked, the ecological and social consequences will be significant and widespread. Although the primary stressors to coral ecosystems are known, scAuthorsShelf stratigraphy and the influence of antecedent substrate on Holocene reef development, south Oahu, Hawaii
Paired analyses of drill cores and high-resolution seismic reflection data show that development of Holocene framework reefs on the Oahu (Hawaii) shelf is limited to settings of low wave energy and to the period 8000 to 3000 yr BP. A prominent bounding surface that is mapped across much of the Oahu shelf is an erosion surface cut into Marine Isotope Stages 5 and 7 limestones that show extensive loAuthorsE. E. Grossman, W. A. Barnhardt, P. Hart, B. M. Richmond, M.E. FieldSummary and preliminary interpretations of USGS cruise A-2-02-HW: Underwater video surveys collected off of Oahu, Molokai, and Maui, Hawaii, June-July 2002
The insular shelves of the southern coasts of the islands of Oahu and Molokai, and the western coast of Maui in the Hawaiian Archipelago were surveyed using ship-towed video between June 26 and July 11, 2002, as part of USGS-CMG cruise A-2-02-HW (Figure 1.1). The goals of the survey were to collect underwater video of the sea floor to: (1) Characterize substrate type and benthic habitat distributiAuthorsAnn Gibbs, Eric E. Grossman, Bruce RichmondDynamics of the physical environment at the USS Arizona memorial: 2002-2004
No abstract available.AuthorsCurt D. Storlazzi, Matthew A. Russell, Marshall D. Owens, Michael E. Field, Larry E. MurphyHolocene reef development where wave energy reduces accommodation
Analyses of 32 drill cores obtained from the windward reef of Kailua Bay, Oahu, Hawaii, indicate that high wave energy significantly reduced accommodation space for reef development in the Holocene and produced variable architecture because of the combined influence of sea-level history and wave exposure over a complex antecedent topography. A paleostream valley within the late Pleistocene insulaAuthorsEric E. Grossman, Charles H. FletcherEl Nino influence on Holocene reef accretion in Hawai'i
New observations of reef accretion from several locations show that in Hawai'i accretion during early to middle Holocene time occurred in areas where today it is precluded by the wave regime, suggesting an increase in wave energy. Accretion of coral and coralline algae reefs in the Hawaiian Islands today is largely controlled by wave energy. Many coastal areas in the main Hawaiian Islands are periAuthorsJ. Rooney, C. Fletcher, E. Grossman, M. Engels, M. FieldNew mapping techniques help assess the health of Hawaii's coral reefs
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is working closely with academic institutions and state and Federal agencies to assess the factors that affect the health of Hawaii's and our Nation's coral reefs. In order to establish a basis from which scientists can objectively detect changes in reef health, the USGS and its cooperators are applying many new techniques to the mapping and monitoring of coral reAuthorsM.E. Field, P.S. Chavez, K.R. Evans, S.A. Cochran - Partners