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U.S. Geological Survey
Open-File Report 2006-1085
Version 1.0

Coastal Circulation and Sediment Dynamics in Hanalei Bay, Kaua’i, Part I, Measurements of waves, currents, temperature, salinity and turbidity; June — August, 2005

By Curt D. Storlazzi, M. Kathy Presto, Joshua B. Logan and Michael E. Field

2006

looking down on the bay from a satellite
QuickBird satellite image courtesy of P. Chavez, USGS

High-resolution measurements of waves, currents, water levels, temperature, salinity and turbidity were made in Hanalei Bay, northern Kaua’i, Hawaii, during the summer of 2005 to better understand coastal circulation and sediment dynamics in coral reef habitats. A series of bottom-mounted instrument packages were deployed in water depths of 10 m or less to collect long-term, high-resolution measurements of waves, currents, water levels, temperature, salinity and turbidity. These data were supplemented with a series of vertical instrument casts to characterize the vertical and spatial variability in water column properties within the bay. The purpose of these measurements was to collect hydrographic data to learn how waves, currents and water column properties vary spatially and temporally in an embayment that hosts a nearshore coral reef ecosystem adjacent to a major river drainage. These measurements support the ongoing process studies being conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program’s Coral Reef Project; the ultimate goal is to better understand the transport mechanisms of sediment, larvae, pollutants and other particles in coral reef settings. This report, the first part in a series, describes data acquisition, processing and analysis.

Download this 35-page report as a PDF document (29.1 MB)

For questions about the content of this report, contact Curt Storlazzi

Also of interest:

Open-File Report 2006-1125, Coastal circulation and sediment dynamics in Hanalei Bay, Kaua’i, part II, tracking recent fluvial sedimentation; isotope stratigraphy obtained in summer 2005, by Amy E. Draut, Michael E. Field, Michael H. Bothner, Joshua B. Logan, Michael A. Casso, Sandra M. Baldwin, and Curt D. Storlazzi

Open-File Report 2006-1147, Coastal circulation and sediment dynamics in Hanalei Bay, Kaua’i, part III, studies of sediment toxicity, by Robert S. Carr, Marion Nipper, Michael Field, and James M. Biedenbach

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URL of this page: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1085/
Maintained by: Michael Diggles
Date created: March 28, 2006
Date last modified: August 4, 2006 (mfd)