USGS Pacific Coral Reefs Website

Project News

Watch this page for the latest breaking news in the USGS Pacific Coral Reefs Program. Click on any of the links to read an extended article. Note -- the links will take you outside of the this website. Use your browser's Back button to return to this page.

September 2008 - USGS scientists travelled to Moloka`i to continue their studies on the south shore coral reef. The focus of this trip was to discover the history of sedimentation in the blue holes, and to see how small benthic animals called foraminifera could help identify coral reefs in distress. Additional reconaissance divers were made on the north shore of the adjacent island of Lana`i.

August 2008 - USGS scientists participated in the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meeting held in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai`i.

July 2008 - USGS scientists joined over 2000 other coral reef scientists for the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium held in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Our group presented and co-authored a total of eight different papers at the conference that related to our work in Hawai`i.

June 2008 - Members of our project participated in a joint USGS/National Park Service workshop on benthic habitat mapping in the National Parks.

May 2008 - USGS scientists participated in a Local Action Strategy meeting for Maunalua Bay on the island of O`ahu in anticipation of upcoming work.

April 2008 - Once again, the USGS participated in Moloka`i's Earth Day Festival, presenting our work and educating folks on our Ridge-to-Reef efforts on the island.

March 2008 - Scientists from the USGS Pacific Coral Reefs project participated in the 2008 Ocean Sciences conference in Orlando FL, presenting talks and posters related to our work in Hawai`i.

January 2008 - USGS scientists travelled to Guam to retrieve oceanographic instruments that were placed in July 2007 as part of a sediment study at the War in the Pacific National Historical Park.

November 2007 - USGS scientists travelled to Moloka`i to take core samples of coral. In a method similar to looking at rings on a cross-section of a tree trunk, the corals will be x-rayed in the lab to see if they show periods of sediment-related stress that can be correlated back to major rainfall events.

Summer/Fall 2007 - In collaboration with the National Park Service, scientists from the USGS travelled to Guam to deploy instruments that collected data on oceanographic conditions and sediment resuspension and flux. Instruments were deployed at the beginning of the summer, and collected data continuously from mid-July through mid-October. In mid-October the instruments were pulled from the water, cleaned, the data downloaded, and the instruments were re-deployed for the next round of continuous data collection.

Spring 2007 - USGS scientists travelled to Moloka`i to re-occupy survey lines from 2005, and measure suspended sediment and turbidity on the reef flat. Once again, instruments were deployed and retrieved, sediment and water samples collected, oceanographic conditions measured, and multi-spectral images were collected via helicopter.

February 2007 - The USGS, in cooperation with the Hanalei Watershed Hui, hosted a multi-agency conference in Princeville, HI to present collective research and collaborations of the multi-disciplinary investigations occurring in Hanalei Bay and the surrounding watersheds. Main issues at hand were to better understand the processes and impacts to the terrestrial and marine ecosystems, with regards to the generation of sediment and other pollutants and their transport through the system.

November 2006 - Collaborators from the Australian National University collected core samples from Porites sp. coral heads on Moloka`i in order to age-date the reef.

October 2006 - The USGS Ridge-to-Reef team was awarded the USGS Innovation in Integrated Science Award for our multi-disciplinary work in the Hawaiian Islands.

Summer 2006 - In cooperation with the Hanalei Watershed Hui, the team once again travelled to Hanalei Bay, Kaua`i to deploy instruments that collected data on oceanographic conditions and sediment resuspension and flux. Instruments were deployed at the beginning of the summer, and collected data continuously through June, July and August. We also collected long and short cores for grain-size and geochemical analysis of sediment.

April 2006 - Scientific instruments deployed along the Kona coast of the Big Island of Hawai`i were retrieved in anticipation of re-deploying them in Hanalei Bay, Kaua`i throughout the summer months. Team members from the Ridge To Reef group participated in the Moloka`i Earth Day Festivities.

February 2006 - Scientists from the USGS Hawai`i coral reefs project participated in Oceans 2006 conference in Honolulu, presenting talks and posters related to our work in the islands. Next stop was the Big Island to retrieve, download, and re-deploy our scientific instruments along the Kona coast.

November 2005 - We began our collaboration with the Kaho`olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC) by deploying instruments to measure sediment runoff in support of their island-wide watershed erosion control project. We also began a study on the Big Island addressing groundwater flow of contaminants along the Kona coastline. During our fieldwork in Kona, we briefed visiting DOI Assistant Secretary Mark Limbaugh on our research at Kaloko-Honokōhau NHP, followed by a short snorkel to see the nearby coral reef. In addition, we began a collaboration with local Kona high schoolers to assist with monitoring submarine groundwater discharge.

Summer 2005 - The team collected a variety of data in Hanalei Bay, Kaua`i, in collaboration with the Hanalei Watershed Hui. Instruments were deployed at the beginning of the summer, and collected data continuously through June, July and August.

April 2005 - USGS scientists were on Moloka`i once again collecting data to assist the Moloka`i Watershed Advisory Group. An intense survey was accomplished in order to establish a baseline measurement of suspended sediment and turbidity on the reef flat from Kapa`akea to Kamalo. Instruments were deployed, sediment and water samples collected, oceanographic conditions measured, and multi-spectral images were collected via helicopter. We also participated in the annual Moloka`i Earth Day Festival.

March 2005 - USGS scientists were invited to present talks at the George Wright Society meeting in Philadelphia. Our talks focused on our Project's coral reef studies at National Parks in Hawai`i.

February 2005 - Managers and scientists from the USGS met in Hawai`i to scout field locations on Kaua`i and to discuss collaborative efforts with the EPA and NCRS regarding sedimentation and point-source pollution studies. In another study, USGS scientists travelled to the Maldive Islands to begin to assess damage to the coral reef from the December 26, 2004 Asian tsunami which heavily impacted the area.

January 2005 - Scientists returned to Ofu to continue studying coral reefs which live under extreme conditions.

November 2004 - Scientists from the USGS Hawai`i coral reefs project participated in the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver, CO where they presented preliminary findings from mapping efforts in the three National Parks on the Kona coast of Hawai`i.

October 2004 - USGS scientists made a quick trip to Kaloko-Honokōhau NHP to retrieve oceanographic instruments that were placed in April 2004.

September 2004 - The Hawai`i coral reef project was spreading aloha at the Open House for the new USGS Pacific Science Center in Santa Cruz, CA. The GPS drifter display was once again a hit, and even the Coral Reef Game made an encore performance.

August 2004 - A very busy month indeed! We continued our underwater and coastal shoreline mapping efforts on the Kona (west) side of the Big Island of Hawai`i, where we also recovered and refitted two oceanographic instrument packages placed in the waters of Kaloko-Honokōhau NHP. Data was collected on Moloka`i using our multi-spectral imaging system mounted on a helicopter. We collected nearshore images to monitor sedimentation on the Moloka`i reef, and on-land images on many of the main eight Hawaiian islands for a variety of vegetation monitoring projects. On the island of Ofu in American Samoa, scientists studied coral reefs which live under extreme conditions. The USGS also participated in the 2004 Western Pacific Geophysical Meeting (AGU) in Honolulu where scientists presented papers on mapping efforts in Hawai`i.

July 2004 - The year-long sediment vs. coral health experiment on Maui comes to an end. In other news, a number of scientists from the USGS participated at the 10th International Coral Reef Symposium, held in Okinawa, Japan. There was a strong showing from both the East and West Coasts, and USGS talks and posters were well received by the international scientific community.

May 2004 - Lead coral reef scientists from the USGS convened at the Pacific Science Center in Santa Cruz, CA to formulate plans for the long-term direction of coral reef studies at the USGS.

April 2004 - USGS once again takes part in Moloka`i's Earth Day Festivities, and we were invited for the first time to participate in the Moloka`i Native Hawaiian Education Council's Education Fair. Next, we were off to the Kona (west) side of the Big Island of Hawai`i to collect underwater video images, temperature and salinity data in the waters off Pu`u Kohola Heiau National Historical Site, Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park, and Pu‘uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park (a.k.a. City of Refuge). Our colleagues from the University of Hawai`i joined us to conduct rapid assessments of reef biota. In addition, two oceanographic instrument packages were placed in the waters of Kaloko-Honokōhau NHP to monitor currents, waves and turbidity.

February 2004 - A very busy month! In addition to fieldwork on three islands and leading a fieldtrip, we participated in several workshop discussions with other scientists, managers, and additional parties with interests in Hawaiian coral reefs. Foremost on everyone's mind are the effects of coastal erosion and other watershed activities on reefs. Also, USGS Scientists Mike Field and Curt Storlazzi are invited to give a presentation about the Life and Death of Hawaiian Coral Reefs at the Menlo Park office as part of the USGS Western Region Evening Public Lecture Series.

Also See These Other Articles:

December 2003 - USGS works off the Big Island of Hawai‘i at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Park.

October 2003 - GPS drifters make a showing at Earth Science Day

September 2003 - USGS Fact Sheet "U.S. Coral Reefs -- Imperiled National Treasures" wins award

July 2003 - Imaging sediment in Hawaiian waters via helicopter

June 2003 - Coral reef spawning experiment with GPS drifters

May 2003 - Coral reef project participates at the USGS Open House in Menlo Park, CA

November 2002 - USGS assists the National Park Service with the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor

February 2002 - Time-series rotary traps on Moloka`i

November 2001 - USGS hosts workshop on Moloka`i

October 2001 - Geophysical survey off Moloka`i and O`ahu

August 2001 - Benthic Imaging of the Moloka`i reef

April 2001 - Moloka`i Earth Day Festivities

February 2001 - USGS looks at coral reefs in Honduras

March 2000 (part 1) - Moloka`i Dispatch article

March 2000 (part 2) - Moloka`i Dispatch article

December 1999 - Moloka`i fieldwork update

May 1999 - First look at Moloka`i

February 1999 - Scouting fieldwork sites

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