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Ocean Productivity
In the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ocean productivity has been linked to large scale fluctuations in sea surface temperature and related oceanographic and atmospheric conditions.
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Seamounts, Guyots and Banks
Although land areas are very limited in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands at less than six square miles, the relatively shallow underwater habitats (0 – 600 feet below the surface) are extensive.
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Fresh water lens
Access to fresh water is the primary limiting factor for terrestrial plants and animals living on the small Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
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Sand
You can tell a lot about the geology of a seaside area by its sand.
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High Islands
The Hawaiian Archipelago is composed of "high" islands, and low-lying islands and atolls.
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By Wind, Wave and Wing
The Hawaiian Archipelago is the remotest island chain on Earth, with the closest continental land mass 2,600 miles away.
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Kuroshio Current
The Kuroshio Current is one of the primary large-scale currents that affect the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
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Coral rubble islets
In atoll environments coral fragments and sand are distributed by currents and wave energy and pile up to create coral-rubble islets.
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Spur and groove reefs
One of the effects of large waves on reefs is the formation of spur-and-groove topography.
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Large wave events
The Hawaiian Islands are famous for their epic waves, particularly along the island's northern shores.
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Tropic of Cancer at Mokumanamana
Mokumanamana sits just north of the Tropic of Cancer, a circle of latitude around the Earth that marks the northern-most position of the sun where it appears directly overhead at its zenith.
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PMNM Size Matters
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and World Heritage Site is currently the third largest marine protected area on Earth, at 139,797 square miles, and is the largest conservation area in the United States.
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Atoll formation
The only coral atolls in the United States are found in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and Kure Atoll is the northernmost atoll in the world.
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Ancient seafloors
The high resolution seafloor topography data shown in this image reveals the flat-topped nature of many of the seamounts and atolls in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI).
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Atoll Reflection on Clouds
Shallow waters of atoll lagoons reflect sunlight back onto low lying clouds, coloring their undersides torquiose or green.
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