Digital surf photographs were scaled using surfers as height benchmarks to estimate the size of the breakers. Historical databases for surf height in Hawaii are recorded in Hawaii Scale Feet (HSF), and these photographs have been used to translate HSF to trough-to-crest heights. Results show the trough-to-crest heights to be double the HSF within a 10-20% margin of error over the full range of possible breaker sizes. This assumes 1) the trough-to-crest height is defined as the highest height reached in the vertical between the crest and the preceding trough at any point along the wave front during breaking and 2) zones of high refraction on outer reefs are included for extreme days when Waimea Bay was the reporting location.

Surf reports are typically made several times per day at select locations around Oahu, primarily by Honolulu City and County lifeguards and the Surf News Network, Inc. Wave heights are reported in Hawaii Scale Feet, which systematically underestimates breaker size by as much as one-half. Although exactly when and why this tendency originated is highly disputed, it became the primary means of communicating surf size by the late 1960s. From publicly available surf reports and other notes from reputable surfers, Mr. Larry Goddard logged heights from 1968 through September 1987 and Mr. Patrick Caldwell has done similarly from September 1987 to 2004. The caretakers of the dataset typically cross-check observations among the various reporters for quality control. The daily value in the GC set represents the upper end of the reported height range, which is roughly equivalent to H1/10, for the observing time and location with the highest breakers along a given coast facing a similar direction. For the north shore, most observations are taken at Sunset Point, which is usually one of the areas of highest surf under the dominant northwest swells. For days of extreme surf with heights greater than 15 HSF, visual observations are reported from Waimea Bay, where breakers are closer to shore. For the south shores, Ala Moana is usually the reporting site. Observations from the west and east side of Oahu have also been recorded although these reports are of lower quality. Comparisons of the GC database to 1981-2002 data from NOAA buoy 51001, which is located roughly 400 km west-northwest of Oahu, show the north shore surf observations are temporally consistent with the shoaling-only, buoy-estimated breaker heights and have an uncertainty of 10 to 15% of the surf height.

Through various funding channels, the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii (UH) has maintained a Datawell Mark 2 Directional Waverider Buoy roughly 4 miles southeast of Mokapu Point, Oahu in roughly 100 m ocean depth since 9 August, 2000. It is located at the seaward edge of Kailua Bay, Windward Oahu. The buoy is a 0.9 m metallic floating sphere with a combination of a bungee and chain anchoring system. The long-term availability of this mooring is uncertain. The directional waverider measures the horizontal and vertical components of acceleration of the buoy, which rides up and down with the waves as it floats on the surface. The sampling rate is 1 Hz and the acquisition time is 20 minutes. From the accelerations of each acquisition time, spectra of energy by frequency and direction are derived. In addition, significant wave height and dominant wave period are calculated. The information is relayed to a shore data logging platform every 30 minutes. The Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) are the primary stewards of the real-time data while UH handles maintenance duties.

Through various funding channels, the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii (UH) has maintained a Datawell Directional Waverider Buoy roughly 5 km northwest of Waimea Bay, Oahu in roughly 200 m ocean depth since 9 December, 2001. The buoy is a 0.9 m metallic floating sphere with a combination of a bungee and chain anchoring system. The long-term availability of this mooring is uncertain. The directional waverider measures the horizontal and vertical components of acceleration of the buoy, which rides up and down with the waves as it floats on the surface. The sampling rate is 1 Hz and the acquisition time is 20 minutes. From the accelerations of each acquisition time, spectra of energy by frequency and direction are derived. In addition, significant wave height and dominant wave period are calculated. The information is relayed to a shore data logging platform every 30 minutes. The Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) are the primary stewards of the real-time data while UH handles maintenance duties.

Aerial photographs were acquired for the Main Eight Hawaiian Islands Benthic Mapping Project in 2000 by NOAA Aircraft Operation Centers aircraft and National Geodetic Survey cameras and personnel. Approximately 1,500, color, 9 by 9 inch photos were taken of the coastal waters of the Main Eight Hawaiian Island at 1:24,000 scale. Specific sun angle and maximum percent cloud cover were adhered to when possible during photography missions to ensure high quality imagery for the purpose of benthic mapping. Prints and diapositives were created from the original negatives. Diapositives were then scanned at a resolution of 500 dpi using a metric scanner, yielding 1.0 by 1.0 meter pixels for the 1:24,000 scale photography. All scans were saved in TIFF format for the purposes of orthorectification and photointerpretation. Original TIFFs were also converted to jpg format to reduce the file size and facilitate web based distribution. Images are currently available in jpeg format for download at 72, 150 and 500 dpi resolution.

This project is a cooperative effort among the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment; the University of Hawaii; and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to develop coral reef mapping methods and compare benthic habitat maps generated by photointerpreting georeferenced color aerial photography, hyperspectral and IKONOS satellite imagery. The enhanced spectral resolution of hyperspectral and control of bandwidths of multispectral data yield an advantage over color aerial photography particularly when coral health and time series analysis of coral reef community structure are of interest. Depending on the type of instrument, a spectral imaging system can be utilized to see multiple colors from ultraviolet through the far infrared range. The AURORA hyperspectral imaging system collected 72 ten nm bands in the visible and near infrared spectral range with a 3 meter pixel resolution. The data was processed to select band widths, which optimized feature detection in shallow and deep water. Photointerpreters can accurately and reliably delineate boundaries of features in the imagery as they appear on the computer monitor using a software interface such as the Habitat Digitizer.

This project is a cooperative effort among the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment; the University of Hawaii; and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to develop coral reef mapping methods and compare benthic habitat maps generated by photointerpreting georeferenced color aerial photography, hyperspectral and IKONOS satellite imagery. The enhanced spectral resolution of hyperspectral and control of bandwidths of multispectral data yield an advantage over color aerial photography particularly when coral health and time series analysis of coral reef community structure are of interest. Depending on the type of instrument, a spectral imaging system can be utilized to see multiple colors from ultraviolet through the far infrared range. The AURORA hyperspectral imaging system collected 72 ten nm bands in the visible and near infrared spectral range with a 3 meter pixel resolution. The data was processed to select band widths, which optimized feature detection in shallow and deep water. Photointerpreters can accurately and reliably delineate boundaries of features in the imagery as they appear on the computer monitor using a software interface such as the Habitat Digitizer.

This project is a cooperative effort among the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment; the University of Hawaii; and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to develop coral reef mapping methods and compare benthic habitat maps generated by photointerpreting georeferenced color aerial photography, hyperspectral and IKONOS satellite imagery. The enhanced spectral resolution of hyperspectral and control of bandwidths of multispectral data yield an advantage over color aerial photography particularly when coral health and time series analysis of coral reef community structure are of interest. Depending on the type of instrument, a spectral imaging system can be utilized to see multiple colors from ultraviolet through the far infrared range. The AURORA hyperspectral imaging system collected 72 ten nm bands in the visible and near infrared spectral range with a 3 meter pixel resolution. The data was processed to select band widths, which optimized feature detection in shallow and deep water. Photointerpreters can accurately and reliably delineate boundaries of features in the imagery as they appear on the computer monitor using a software interface such as the Habitat Digitizer.

This project is a cooperative effort among the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment; the University of Hawaii; and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to develop coral reef mapping methods and compare benthic habitat maps generated by photointerpreting georeferenced color aerial photography, hyperspectral and IKONOS satellite imagery. The enhanced spectral resolution of hyperspectral and control of bandwidths of multispectral data yield an advantage over color aerial photography particularly when coral health and time series analysis of coral reef community structure are of interest. Depending on the type of instrument, a spectral imaging system can be utilized to see multiple colors from ultraviolet through the far infrared range. The AURORA hyperspectral imaging system collected 72 ten nm bands in the visible and near infrared spectral range with a 3 meter pixel resolution. The data was processed to select band widths, which optimized feature detection in shallow and deep water. Photointerpreters can accurately and reliably delineate boundaries of features in the imagery as they appear on the computer monitor using a software interface such as the Habitat Digitizer.

This project is a cooperative effort among the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment; the University of Hawaii; and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to develop coral reef mapping methods and compare benthic habitat maps generated by photointerpreting georeferenced color aerial photography, hyperspectral and IKONOS satellite imagery. The enhanced spectral resolution of hyperspectral and control of bandwidths of multispectral data yield an advantage over color aerial photography particularly when coral health and time series analysis of coral reef community structure are of interest. Depending on the type of instrument, a spectral imaging system can be utilized to see multiple colors from ultraviolet through the far infrared range. The AURORA hyperspectral imaging system collected 72 ten nm bands in the visible and near infrared spectral range with a 3 meter pixel resolution. The data was processed to select band widths, which optimized feature detection in shallow and deep water. Photointerpreters can accurately and reliably delineate boundaries of features in the imagery as they appear on the computer monitor using a software interface such as the Habitat Digitizer.