The Barking Sands study area is located on the west coast of Kaua‘i on the Mānā Plain. The area is bounded by Nohili Point to the north and the Pacific Missile Range air strip in the south. The shoreline is characterized by extensive beach rock backed by vegetated sand dunes and broken by carbonate sand beach. The study area is exposed to swell from the northwest and west during winter and spring months, swell from the west and southwest in the summer, as well as persistent tradewinds.
The area is divided into two discrete sections for analysis and description purposes. The southern section (transects 36 – 67) is experiencing erosion with an average shoreline change rate of -0.2 ft/yr. The northern section (transects 69 – 79) is comprised of a small pocket of sand that has been eroding with an average shoreline change rate of -0.4 ft/yr. Previous studies* did not analyze the Barking Sands study area shoreline.
* Makai Ocean Engineering and Sea Engineering, 1991 Aerial Photograph Analysis of Coastal Erosion on the Islands of Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Hawaii. State of Hawaii Office of Coastal Zone Management Program.
Last updated: July 2021
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