USGS Pacific Coral Reefs Website

Moloka‘i

Landsat satellite image from NASA

The Friendly Isle of Moloka‘i encompasses 673 sq km (260 sq mi), making it the fifth largest of the main eight Hawaiian Islands. The north and west coasts of the island have little coral growth due to impact from northwest swell. However, protected from the southern swell waves by the islands of Lāna‘i and Kaho‘olowe, the south shore of Moloka‘i boasts the longest continuous fringing reef of the U.S. and its holdings. Studies by scientists at the University of Hawai‘i Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program have shown that Moloka‘i has sites with the best coral coverage in the main eight Hawaiian Islands. Yet impacts from sediment run-off into the nearshore ecosystem have also caused areas of degredation of the south Moloka‘i reef.

The USGS has used the south Moloka‘i reef as its test ground for developing benthic habitat mapping methods including remote sensing and underwater videography. Investigations into sedimentation along the south coast involve deployment of instrument packages to measure oceanographic conditions such as turbidity, currents, waves, temperature, and salinity. Click on the links below to learn about some of these efforts.

• View click-and-zoom panorama of Kaunakakai Wharf, Moloka‘i (1.4 Mb)
  
  
• View click-and-zoom panorama of Kawela ahupua‘a, Moloka‘i (1.9 Mb)
  
  
• View movie of coral reef near Kamalō (11.3 Mb)
  
  
• View movie of coral reef offshore from Kapuāiwa (King Kamehameha V) coconut grove (12.3 Mb)
  
  
• View movie of coral reef near Pālā‘au (11.8 Mb)
  
  
• USGS Open File Report 2005-1070
  Moloka‘i Benthic Habitat Mapping
  
  
• USGS Open File Report 02-158
  Moloka‘i Fieldtrip Guidebook: selected aspects of the geology, geography, and coral reefs of Moloka‘i
  
  
• Quantifying suspended sediment with multi-spectral aerial imaging
  
  
• Underwater video groundtruthing of SHOALS data for benthic habitat mapping
  
  
• U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 2005-1244
  Summary and preliminary interpretations of USGS cruise A-2-02-HW: Underwater video surveys collected off of Oahu, Moloka‘i, and Maui, Hawai‘i, June-July 2002
  
  

Other selected works:

• Bothner, M.H., Reynolds, R.L., Casso, M.A., Storlazzi, C.D. and Field, M.E., 2006, Quantity, composition and source of sediment collected in sediment traps along the fringing coral reef off Molokai, Hawaii: Marine Pollution Bulletin, v. 52(9), p. 1034-1047.
  
  
• Presto, M.K., Ogston, A.O., Storlazzi, C.D., Field, M.E., 2006, Temporal and spatial variability in the flow and dispersal of suspended-sediment on a fringing reef flat, Molokai, Hawaii: Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, v. 67, p. 67-81.
  
  
• Storlazzi, C.D., Field, M.E., Rogers, K., Jokiel, P.L., Brown, E., and Dykes, J.D., 2005, A model for wave control on coral breakage and species distribution in the Hawaiian Islands: Coral Reefs, v. 24, p. 43-55.
  
  
• Engels, M.S., Fletcher, C.H., Field, M.E., Storlazzi, C.D., Grossman, E.E., Rooney, J.J.B., Conger, C.L., and Glenn, C., 2004, Holocene reef accretion; southwest Molokai, Hawaii: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 74(2), p. 255-269.
  
  
• Ogston, A.S., Storlazzi, C.D., Field, M.E. and Presto, M.K., 2004, Currents and suspended sediment transport on a shallow reef flat; South-central Molokai, Hawai‘i: Coral Reefs, v. 23, p. 559-569.
  
  
• Storlazzi, C.D., Ogston, A.S., Bothner, M.H., Field, M.E., and Presto M.K., 2004, Wave- and tidally-driven flow and sediment flux across a fringing coral reef; South-central Molokai, Hawai‘i: Continental Shelf Research, v. 24(12), p. 1397-1419.
  
  
• Storlazzi, C.D., Logan, J.B., and Field, M.E., 2003, Quantitative morphology of a fringing reef tract from high-resolution laser bathymetry; Southern Molokai, Hawaii: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 115, no. 11, p. 1344-1355.

| Ni‘ihau | Kaua'i | O‘ahu | Moloka‘i | Lāna‘i | Kaho‘olawe | Maui | Hawai‘i | Guam |

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