Source: Nature: "Violent Hawaii"
Major corporate support for the Nature collection was provided by Canon U.S.A. and SC Johnson. Additional support was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the nation’s public television stations.
Hawaiian Coastal Cliffs
(Video)
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Weathering and erosion continues to shape and affect the landscape of the Hawaiian Islands. Torrential rains tear away at the mountainous terrain of the islands, putting communities in potential danger. In this video segment from Nature, learn about the impact of water erosion on Hawaii's islands.
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The earth’s landscape is naturally shaped by the forces of weathering and erosion. Weathering refers to the breakdown of rocks at or near the surface of the earth, either by chemical processes (e.g. limestone being dissolved by water) or physical processes (e.g. rocks cracking because of temperature extremes). The movement of weathered rock fragments-also called sediment-by forces including wind, water or gravity is called erosion. Human activity may both accelerate erosion (for example by removing vegetation which stabilizes soil), or prevent it (through reinforcement of erosion-prone areas like beaches, riverbanks, and hillsides).
Torrential storms are common here, and annual totals are often measured in hundreds of inches.
Rain can be both nourishing… and destructive.
On these mountainous islands, water is always on the move, and it moves fast.
Waterlogged hillsides eventually give way, with disastrous results.
On Oahu, one community found itself in peril after tons of rock rolled down from the hills above.
Boulders narrowly missed the houses, and residents took the warning seriously, evacuating their homes.
To help prevent further disasters, crews went to work on the nearby slopes.
The loose rocks can’t simply be removed… but with luck and skill, they might be held in place.
The best solution is a veil of steel mesh to contain the hillside. Helicopters do the heavy lifting, but a crew of scalers has to rappel down the uneven face of the slope, and stitch the net together.
Their work may keep the rocks in check here… for a time. But in Hawaii, erosion is part of the natural order. What the volcanoes have built up, wind, water, and seismic forces will inevitably tear apart.
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