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Telling the Public About USGS Research on the Kona Coast, Hawai'i
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists took time out from a week of fieldwork on the Big Island of Hawai'i to explain some aspects of their research to the public last November. Eric Grossman, Curt Storlazzi, and Josh Logan were on the Big Island to investigate submarine ground-water discharge and the flux of associated nutrients and contaminants into coastal waters in Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park on the island's west coast. On November 10, Grossman delivered a "ReefTalk" to approximately 75 people from the community of Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i. Sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Sea Grant Program, the talk described a new study of submarine ground-water discharge being conducted by scientists from the USGS, Stanford University, the University of Hawai'i, and Florida State University to generate baseline data on the delivery of freshwater, nutrients, and contaminants to West Hawai'i's coral reefs. West Hawai'i's growing human population and the ecosystems in its unique anchialine ponds (nearshore ponds with no surface connection to the ocean but with saltwater and tidal cycles) and near-pristine coral reefs are closely tied to ground water—the principal form of freshwater along the arid West Hawai'i coast. Grossman also described recent findings about Holocene coral-reef development by USGS and University of Hawai'i collaborators. The talk was recorded for airing on Public Access Television in Kailua-Kona. On November 11, Grossman and Storlazzi joined other scientists, including USGS geologist Mike Field, to brief Department of the Interior (DOI) Assistant Secretary Mark Limbaugh on coastal research being conducted in the Hawaiian Islands by various DOI agencies (see related article, this issue). On November 16, Grossman delivered an invited talk on USGS mapping in coastal and marine environments to approximately 100 high-school students and teachers as part of Kealakehe High School's GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Day. This event included presentations and displays by local and State professionals, such as ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute), Hawai'i County, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, Forest Solutions (a privately owned forest-management group), Hawai'i Community College, and the University of Hawai'i, Hilo. Logan presented posters and maps to the group. Later in the day, Grossman led several high-school teachers, students, and parents on a 1-hour field trip to a USGS field location in Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, where research projects for four students were initiated. These projects will contribute to USGS studies of the effects of submarine ground-water discharge and the coastal processes that influence shoreline morphology. Three projects in particular will provide monthly to bimonthly data on:
The students are implementing these projects under the supervision of Larry Rice, who heads the Kealakehe High School GIS and ROV development program.
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in this issue:
special feature: Offshore Impacts of Hurricane Katrina Sediment-Toxicity Studies in Western Long Island Sound Sea-Floor Geology Off Massachusetts Coast Alvin Dives to Deep-Water Coral Habitats
Briefing on Coastal Research in Hawai'i USGS Research on the Kona Coast, Hawai'i
Native-Plant Landscaping in Florida
Dec. 2005 / Jan. 2006 Publications List |
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U. S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
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