Abstract
Chronic erosion in Hawaii causes beach loss, damages homes and infrastructure, and endangers critical habitat. These problems will likely worsen with increased sea level rise (SLR). We forecast future coastal change by combining historical shoreline trends with projected accelerations in SLR (IPCC RCP8.5) using the Davidson-Arnott profile model. The resulting erosion hazard zones are overlain on aerial photos and other GIS layers to provide a tool for identifying assets exposed to future coastal erosion. We estimate rates and distances of shoreline change for ten study sites across the Hawaiian Islands. Excluding one beach (Kailua) historically dominated by accretion, approximately 92 and 96 % of the shorelines studied are projected to retreat by 2050 and 2100, respectively. Most projections (~80 %) range between 1–24 m of landward movement by 2050 (relative to 2005) and 4–60 m by 2100, except at Kailua which is projected to begin receding around 2050. Compared to projections based only on historical extrapolation, those that include accelerated SLR have an average 5.4 ± 0.4 m (±standard deviation of the average) of additional shoreline recession by 2050 and 18.7 ± 1.5 m of additional recession by 2100. Due to increasing SLR, the average shoreline recession by 2050 is nearly twice the historical extrapolation, and by 2100 it is nearly 2.5 times the historical extrapolation. Our approach accounts for accretion and long-term sediment processes (based on historical trends) in projecting future shoreline position. However, it does not incorporate potential future changes in nearshore hydrodynamics associated with accelerated SLR.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Cross-shore elevations of the beach were collected by University of Hawaii researchers using the same methods described in Gibbs et al. (2001). The University of Hawaii Coastal Geology Group provided the raw data.
References
Anderson TR, Frazer LN (2014) Toward parsimony in shoreline change prediction (III): B-splines and noise handling. J Coast Res 30(4):729–742
Anderson TR, Frazer LN, Fletcher CH (2014) Long-term shoreline change at Kailua, Hawaii using regularized single transect. J Coast Res. doi:10.2112/jcoastres-d-13-00202.1
Aucan JP (2006) Directional wave climatology for the Hawaiian Islands from buoy data and the influence of ENSO on extreme wave events from wave model hindcast. In: Proceedings of the 9th International Workshop on Wave Hindcasting and Forecasting (Victoria, British Columbia), JCOMM Technical Report 34/WMO-TD, 1368
Aucan JP, Hoeke R, Merrifield M (2012) Wave-driven sea level anomalies at the Midway tide gauge as an index of North Pacific storminess over the past 60 years. Geophys Res Lett 39(17):L17603. doi:10.1029/2012GL052993
Bauer BO, Allen JR (1995) Beach steps: an evolutionary prospective. Mar Geol 123(3–4):143–166
Bayley GV, Hammersley JM (1946) The “effective” number of independent observations in an autocorrelated time series. Suppl J R Stat Soc 8(2):184–197
Bochicchio C, Fletcher CH, Dyer M, Smith T (2009) Reef-top sediment bodies: Windward Oahu, Hawaii. Pac Sci 63(1):61–82
Bodge KR, Sullivan S (1999) Hawaii pilot beach restoration project: coastal engineering investigation. State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Honolulu, pp 38–40
Bruun P (1962) Sea-level rise as a cause of shoreline erosion. J Waterw Harb Div Am Soc Civ Eng 88:117–130
Bruun P (1988) The Bruun Rule of erosion by sea level rise: a discussion on large-scale and two- and three-dimensional usages. J Coast Res 4(4):627–648
Caccamise DJ, Merrifield MA, Bevis M, Foster J, Firing Y, Schenewerk M, Taylor F, Thomas D (2005) Sea level rise at Honolulu and Hilo, Hawaii: GPS estimates of differential land motion. Geophys Res Lett 32:L03607. doi:10.1029/2004GL021380
Calhoun RS, Fletcher CH (1996) Late Holocene coastal plain stratigraphy and sea level history at Hanalei, Kauai, Hawaii Islands. Quat Res 45(1):47–58
Cazenave A, Le Cozannet G (2013) Sea level rise and its coastal impacts. Earth Future 2(2):15–34. doi:10.1002/2013EF000188
Church JA, White NJ (2011) Sea-level rise from the late 19th to the early 21st century. Surv Geophys 32(4–5):585–602
Church JA, Clark PU, Cazenave A, Gregory JM, Jevrejeva S, Levermann A, Merrifield MA, Milne GA, Nerem RS, Nunn PD, Payne AJ, Pfeffer WT, Stammer D, Unnikrishnan AS (2013) Sea level change. In: Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner G-K, Tignor M, Allen SK, Boschung J, Nauels A, Xia Y, Bex V, Midgley PM (eds) Climate change 2013: The physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York
Conger C (2005) Identification and characterization of sand deposit distribution on the fringing reefs of Oahu, Hawaii. Thesis, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Cooper JAG, Pilkey OH (2004) Sea-level rise and shoreline retreat: time to abandon the Bruun Rule. Glob Planet Change 43:157–171
Cowell PJ, Kench PS (2000) The morphological response of atoll islands to sea-level rise. Part 1: Modifications to the shoreface translation model. J Coast Res Special Issue 34, (ICS 2000, New Zealand), pp 633–644
Cowell PJ, Roy PS, Jones RA (1995) Simulation of large-scale coastal change using a morphological behaviour model. Mar Geol 126(1–4):45–61
Curtiss JH (1941) On the distribution of the quotient of two change variables. Ann Math Stat 12(4):409–421
Dail HJ, Merrifield MA, Bevis M (2000) Steep beach morphology changes due to energetic wave forcing. Mar Geol 162(2–4):443–458
Davidson-Arnott R (2005) Conceptual model of the effects of sea level rise on sandy coasts. J Coast Res 21(6):1166–1172
Davison AC (2003) Statistical models. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 726
Dean RG (1991) Equilibrium beach profiles: characteristics and applications. J Coast Res 7(1):53–84
Dean RG, Maurmeyer EM (1983) Models for beach profile response. In: Komar PD (ed) CRC handbook of coastal processes and erosion. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 151–165
Douglas BC, Crowell M (2000) Long-term shoreline position prediction and error propagation. J Coast Res 16(1):145–152
EUROSION (2004) Living with coastal erosion in Europe: sediment and space for sustainability. Part III—Methodology for assessing regional indicators
Everts CH (1985) Sea level rise effects. J Waterw Port Coast Ocean Eng 111(6):985–999
Fenneman MM (1902) Development of the profile of equilibrium of the subaqueous shore terrace. J Geol 10(1):1–32
Fitzgerald DM, Fenster MS, Argow BA, Buynevich IV (2008) Coastal impacts due to sea-level rise. Annu Rev Earth Planet Sci 36:601–647
Fletcher CH, Jones AT (1996) Sea-level highstand recorded in Holocene shoreline deposits on Oahu, Hawaii. J Sediment Res 66(3):632–641
Fletcher CH, Rooney J, Barbee M, Lim S-C, Richmond B (2003) Mapping shoreline change using digital orthophotogrammetry on Maui, Hawaii. J Coast Res SI(38):106–124
Fletcher CH, Murray-Wallace CV, Glenn CR, Sherman CE, Popp B, Hessler A (2005) Age and origin of late Quaternary eolianite, Kaiehu Point (Moomomi), Molokai, Hawaii. J Coast Res SI(42):97–112
Fletcher CH, Bochicchio C, Conger CL, Engels MS, Feirstein EJ, Grossman EE, Grigg R, Harney JN, Rooney JJB, Sherman CE, Vitousek S, Rubin K, Murray-Wallace CV (2008) Geology of Hawaii reefs. In: Riegl BM, Dodge RE (eds) Coral reefs of the USA. Springer, New York, pp 435–488
Fletcher CH, Romine BM, Genz AS, Barbee MM, Dyer M, Anderson TR, Lim SC, Vitousek S, Bochicchio C, Richmond BM (2013) National assessment of shoreline change: historical shoreline change in the Hawaiian Islands. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011–1051
Frazer LN, Genz AS, Fletcher CH (2009) Toward parsimony in shoreline change prediction (I): methods. J Coast Res 25(2):366–379
Gibb JG (1995) Assessment of Coastal Hazard Zones for Northern Poverty Bay and Wainui Beach, Gisborne District. Report for the Gisborne District Council
Gibbs AE, Richmond BM, Fletcher CH, Hillman KP (2001) Hawaii Beach Monitoring Program: Beach profile data. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 01-308
Grady AE, Moore LJ, Storlazzi CD, Elias E, Reidenbach MA (2013) The influence of sea level rise and changes in fringing reef morphology on gradients in alongshore sediment transport. Geophys Res Lett 40(12):3096–3101
Grossman EE, Fletcher CH (1998) Sea level higher than present 3500 years ago on the northern main Hawaiian Islands. Geology 26(4):363–366
Grossman EE, Fletcher CH (2004) Holocene reef development where wave energy reduces accommodation space, Kailua, Bay, windward Oahu, Hawaii, USA. J Sediment Res 74(1):49–63
Gutierrez BT, Plant NG, Thieler ER (2011) A Bayesian network to predict coastal vulnerability to sea level rise. J Geophys Res 116(F2):F02009. doi:10.1029/2010JF001891
Hallermeier RJ (1981) A profile zonation for seasonal sand beaches from wave climate. Coast Eng 4:253–277
Hands EG (1979) Changes in rates of shore retreat, Lake Michigan, 1967–1976. Coastal Engineering Research Center Technical Memorandum No. 79-4
Hands EB (1980) Prediction of shore retreat and nearshore profile adjustments to rising water levels on the Great Lakes. Coastal Engineering Research Center Technical Memorandum No. 80-7
Hands EB (1983) The Great Lakes as a test model for profile response to sea level changes. In: Komar PD (ed) Handbook of coastal processes and erosion. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 167–189
Hanson H, Aarninkhof S, Capobianco M, Jimenez JA, Larson M, Nicholls RJ, Plant NG, Southgate HN, Steetzel HJ, Stive MJF, de Vriend HJ (2003) Modelling of coastal evolution on yearly to decadal time scales. J Coast Res 19(4):790–811
Hapke CJ, Himmelstoss EA, Kratzman MG, List JH, Thieler ER (2010) National assessment of shoreline change: Historical shoreline changes along the New England and Mid-Atlantic coasts. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010-1118
Harney JN, Grossman EE, Richmond BM, Fletcher CH (2000) Age and composition of carbonate shoreface sediments, Kailua Bay, Oahu, Hawaii. Coral Reefs 19(2):141–154
Helm V, Humbert A, Miller H (2014) Elevation and elevation change of Greenland and Antarctica derived from CryoSat-2. Cryosphere Discuss 8(2):1673–1721. doi:10.5194/tcd-8-1673-2014
Hemer MA, Fan Y, Mori N, Semedo A, Wang XL (2013) Projected changes in wave climate from a multi-model ensemble. Nat Clim Change 3:471–476. doi:10.1038/nclimate1791
Houston JR, Dean RG (2014) Shoreline change on the East Coast of Florida. J Coast Res 30(4):647–660
Hwang DJ (1981) Beach changes on Oahu as revealed by aerial photographs, Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, Technical Report HIG-81-3, pp 66–75
Hwang DJ (2005) Hawaii Coastal Hazard Mitigation Guidebook, Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program, Report UNIHI-SEAGRANT-BA-03-01
Joughin I, Smith BE, Medley B (2014) Marine ice sheet collapse potentially underway for the Thwaites Glacier Basin, West Antarctica. Science 344(6185):735–738
Katsman CA, Sterl A, Beersma JJ, van den Brink HW, Church JA, Hazeleger W, Kopp RE, Kroon D, Kwadijk J, Lammersen R, Lowe J, Oppenheimer M, Plag H-P, Ridley J, von Storch H, Vaughan DG, Vellinga P, Vermeersen LLA, van de Wal RSW, Weisse R (2011) Exploring high-end scenarios for local sea level rise to develop flood protection strategies for a low-lying delta—the Netherlands as an example. Clim Change 109(3–4):617–645
Komar PD (1998) Beach processes and sedimentation, 2nd edn. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River
Komar PD, McDougal WG, Marra JJ, Ruggiero P (1999) The rational analysis of setback distances: applications to the Oregon Coast. Shore and Beach 76(1):41–49
Kopp RE, Horton RM, Little CM, Mitrovica JX, Oppenheimer M, Rasmussen DJ, Strauss BH, Tebaldi C (2014) Probabilistic 21st and 22nd century sea-level projections at a global network of tide-gauge sites. Earth’s Future 2(8):383–406. doi:10.1002/2014EF000239
List JH, Sallenger AH Jr, Hansen ME, Jaffe BE (1997) Accelerated relative sea-level rise and rapid coastal erosion: testing a causal relationship for the Louisiana barrier islands. Mar Geol 140(3–4):347–365
Merrifield MA, Maltrud ME (2011) Regional sea level trends due to a Pacific trade wind intensification. Geophys Res Lett 38(21):L21605
Mimura N, Nobuoka H (1995) Verification of the Bruun Rule for the estimate of shoreline retreat caused by sea-level rise. In: Dally ER, Zeidler RB (eds) Coastal dynamics 95. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York, pp 607–616
Moberly RM, Chamberlain T (1964) Hawaiian beach systems. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii, Institute of Geophysics, Final Report HIG-64-2
Moore JG (1970) Relationship between subsidence and volcanic load, Hawaii. Bull Volcanol 34(2):562–576
Muñóz-Pérez JJ, Tejedor L, Medina R (1999) Equilibrium beach profile model for reef-protected beaches. J Coast Res 15(4):950–957
Norcross ZM, Fletcher CH, Merrifield M (2003a) Annual and interannual changes on a reef-fringed pocket beach: Kailua Bay, Hawaii. Mar Geol 190(3–4):553–580
Norcross Z, Fletcher CH, Rooney JJR, Eversole D, Miller TL (2003b) Hawaiian beaches dominated by longshore transport. In: Davis RA, Howd P, Sallenger A (eds) Proceedings of the international conference on coastal sediments 2003, Clearwater, Florida, 18–23 May 2003
Péquignet A-CN, Becker J, Merrifield MA (2014) Energy transfer between wind waves and low-frequency oscillations on a fringing reef, Ipan, Guam. J Geophys Res Oceans 119(10):6709–6724
Perry CT, Kench PS, Smithers SG, Riegl B, Yamano H, O’Leary MJ (2011) Implications of reef ecosystem change for the stability and maintenance of coral reef islands. Glob Change Biol 17(12):3679–3696
Pilkey OH, Cooper JAG (2004) Society and sea level rise. Science 303(5665):1781–1782
Pilkey OH, Young RS, Riggs SR, Sam Smith AW, Wu H, Pilkey W (1993) The concept of shoreface profile of equilibrium: a critical review. J Coast Res 9(1):255–278
Purdy E (1974) Karst-determined facies patterns in British Honduras: Holocene carbonate sedimentation model. Am As Pet Geol Bull 58(5):825–855
Ranasinghe R, Stive MJF (2009) Rising seas and retreating coastlines. Clim Change 97:465–468. doi:10.1007/s10584-009-9593-3
Ranasinghe R, Callaghan D, Stive MJF (2011) Estimating coastal recession due to sea level rise: beyond the Bruun rule. Clim Change 110(3–4):561–574
Rignot E, Mouginot J, Morlighem M, Seroussi H, Scheuchi B (2014) Widespread rapid grounding line retreat of Pine Island, Thwaites, Smith, and Kohler glaciers, West Antarctica, from 1992 to 2011. Geophys Res Lett 41(10):3502–3509
Romine BM, Fletcher CH (2013) A summary of historical shoreline changes on beaches of Kauai, Oahu, and Maui: Hawaii. J Coast Res 29(3):605–614
Romine BM, Fletcher CH, Barbee MM, Anderson TR, Frazer LN (2013) Are beach erosion rates and sea level rise related in Hawaii? Glob Planet Change 108:149–157. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2013.06.009
Romine , BM, Fletcher CH, Frazer LN, Anderson TR. Antecedent geomorphology and shoreline change, northeast Oahu, Hawaii. J Geophys Res Earth Surf (in review)
Rooney JJB, Fletcher CH (2005) Shoreline change and pacific climatic oscillations in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii. J Coast Res 21(3):535–547
Rosati JD, Dean RG, Walton TL (2013) The modified Bruun Rule extended for landward transport. Mar Geol 340:71–78
Schwartz ML (1967) The Bruun theory of sea-level rise as a cause of shore erosion. J Geol 75(1):76–92
SCOR Working Group 89 (1991) The response of beaches to sea-level changes: a review of predictive models. J Coast Res 7(3):895–921
Sea Engineering (1988) Oahu Shoreline Study, Part 1, Data on Beach Changes. Honolulu, Hawaii. Report for the City and County of Honolulu Department of Land Utilization
Shand T, Shand R, Reinen-Hamill R, Carley J, Cox R (2013) A review of shoreline response models to changes in sea level. In: Coasts and Ports 2013: 21st Australasian Coastal and Ocean Engineering conference and the 14th Australasian Port and Harbour conference (Sydney, Australia), pp 676–684
Sheppard C, Dixon D, Gourlay M, Sheppard A, Payet R (2005) Coral mortality increases wave energy reaching shores protected by reef flats: examples from the Seychelles. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 64(2–3):223–234
Stive MJF (2004) How important is global warming for coastal erosion? An editorial comment. Clim Change 64(1–2):27–39
Stive MJF, Aarninkhof SGJ, Hamm L, Hanson H, Larson M, Wijnberg KM, Nicholls RJ, Capobianco M (2002) Variability of shore and shoreline evolution. Coast Eng 47(2):211–235
Storlazzi CD, Elias E, Field ME, Presto MK (2011) Numerical modeling of the impact of sea-level rise on fringing coral reef hydrodynamics and sediment transport. Coral Reefs 30(1 Supplement):83–96
Thieler ER, Pilkey OH Jr, Young RS, Bush DM, Chai F (2000) The use of mathematical models to predict beach behavior for US coastal engineering: a critical review. J Coast Res 16(1):48–70
Vitousek S, Fletcher CH (2008) Maximum annually recurring wave heights in Hawaii. Pac Sci 62(4):541–553
Wang XL, Feng Y, Swail VR (2014) Changes in global ocean wave heights as projected using multimodel CMIP5 simulations. Geophys Res Lett 41:1026–1034. doi:10.1002/2013GL058650
Yates ML, Le Cozannet G (2012) Brief communication “Evaluating European coastal evolution using Bayesian networks”. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 12(4):1173–1177
Yates ML, Le Cozannet G, Lenotre N (2011) Quantifying errors in long-term coastal erosion and inundation hazard assessments. In: Proceedings of the 11th international coastal symposium (Szczecin, Poland), pp 260–264
Zhang K, Douglas BC, Leatherman SP (2004) Global warming and coastal erosion. Clim Change 64(1–2):41–58
Acknowledgments
We thank Sam Lemmo of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL) for help in determining the needs of Hawaii’s planning community. Funding for this study was provided by the Hawaii DLNR and the Department of Interior Pacific Islands Climate Science Center. This study was funded by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Department of Interior Pacific Islands Climate Science Center.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Anderson, T.R., Fletcher, C.H., Barbee, M.M. et al. Doubling of coastal erosion under rising sea level by mid-century in Hawaii. Nat Hazards 78, 75–103 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-015-1698-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-015-1698-6