Waiakane, Molokai, HI, 2018 Coral Reef Circulation and Sediment Dynamics Experiment

Coral reefs generate significant volumes of carbonate sediment that becomes the primary source of beach material along many low-latitude shorelines that protect hundreds of millions of people globally. Despite this fact, there is little understanding of the specific processes that transport the carbonate sediment produced on the outer portions of coral reefs to the shoreline, let alone how those processes may be affected by projected sea-level rise. To better constrain the influence of sea-level rise on waves and sediment transport over a fringing coral reef flat, an experiment was conducted across a large fringing reef off the south shore of Molokai, Hawaii. Here we provide data on water levels, waves, currents observed during this field effort.