The Pāpaʻa Bay study area (transects 0 – 44) is located on the east coast of Kauaʻi. The area is bounded by Pāpaʻa Bay to the north and Aliomanu Beach to the south. The shoreline is composed of calcareous sand beach interrupted by basalt headlands with a fringing reef offshore.
Overall, the area is eroding at an average rate of -0.5 ft/yr. The area lends itself to division into two portions. Pāpaʻa Bay (transects 0 – 12) is a small pocket beach located to the north of the study area. This section of the study area is experiencing erosion with an average shoreline change rate of -0.9 ft/yr. The next beach (transects 13 – 44) to the south of Aliomanu Beach is experiencing erosion with an average shoreline change rate of -0.3 ft/yr. Previous studies* found both beaches in this study area are stable or slightly accreting. These diverging results might be due to the use of different methodologies and the extended time series of shoreline positions used in this study.
*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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