Justin Gillis may have some competition at the Times for the most clueless global warming author.
Hawaii’s Beaches Are in Retreat, and Its Way of Life May Follow Beaches like Waikiki face accelerating erosion, a new report says.
Little by little, Hawaii’s iconic beaches are disappearing.
Most beaches on the state’s three largest islands are eroding, and the erosion is likely to accelerate as sea levels rise, the United States Geological Survey is reporting.
Though average erosion rates are relatively low — perhaps a few inches per year — they range up to several feet per year and are highly variable from island to island and within each island, agency scientists say. The report says that over the last century, about 9 percent of the sandy coast on the islands of Hawaii, Oahu and Maui has vanished. That’s almost 14 miles of beach.
The findings have important implications for public safety, the state’s multibillion-dollar tourism economy and the way of life Hawaiians treasure, said Charles H. Fletcher, who led the work for the agency.
Hawaii’s Beaches Are in Retreat, and Way of Life May Follow – NYTimes.com
The sand at Waikiki Beach was brought in from California from the 1920s through the 1970s. It has been disappearing for the last 40 years, because they aren’t replenishing it any more. Sea level has risen 120 metres in the last 15,000 years. Beaches don’t drown – they relocate.
I tried to find out what percentage of Hawaii’s beaches are manmade but didn’t see the answer. Maybe you would have more luck.
Hawaii is made of black basalt, which doesn’t contain quartz – the ingredient of white sand. Black sand beaches are natural in Hawaii, white sand is harder to come by.
Islands formed from volcanic eruptions like the Hawaiian chain are nothing but targets of erosions once they finish forming.
Erosion is what forms beaches.
The islands to the northwest are sinking due to gradual displacement off of the mound caused by the hotspot that forms the islands. Source: TV show “How The Earth Was Made.”
Waikiki Beach is as big, or bigger, than it was 80 years ago. For photographic evidence, go to pickincherries.blogspot.com