Education & Outreach: Fun Oceanography Facts
Waves and Weather
Waves
Many waves that hit the shores of Hawai‘i are generated by storms that could be thousands of mile, near New Zealand, Japan and Alaska. Waves move energy, not water through the ocean; the water below a wave doesn’t move forward until the wave breaks on shore.
Tsunamis
Tsunamis are long-wavelength waves caused by earthquakes, landslides, icebergs falling from glaciers, volcanic eruptions, and other direct displacement of water. Tsunami waves can be very small (a few several centimeters or 1 inch) or very large (nearly 33 m or 100 ft). Click here to see how long it would take a tsunami wave to reach Hawai‘i if it started anywhere in the Pacific. The numbers on the lines tell you how many hours it will take for a tsunami to arrive in Hawai‘i if it starts on the line.
Wind
Wind carries heat and moisture (rain) across the globe which helps make hot places (like the equator) cooler and cold places (like the poles) warmer. The dominant winds in Hawai‘i, the northeast trade winds, are part of a larger wind circulation pattern that surrounds the globe which moves air between the horse latitudes (around 30°N and 30°S) and the doldrums (near the equator). The horse latitudes are areas of high atmospheric pressure and very little wind. Colonial ships sailing in the horse latitudes would not be able to sail very quickly because there was little wind so they could be stuck there for weeks at a time. To decrease the weight on the ship and increase their sailing speed sailors were forced to eat the livestock (such as horses) they brought with them or throw them over the side of the ship.
Sea Level
What changes sea level?
Two main factors are affecting sea level rise: ice on land melting and flowing into the ocean and ocean water warming up and expanding due to global warming. If ice floating in the ocean, called sea ice, melts, it does NOT change sea level. Click here to learn how to do an experiment and prove this to yourself.
All land in Hawaii is “coastal”
Of course you know that Hawai‘i is an island state but did you know that everyone in Hawai‘i lives in “coastal” land? That’s because no point in the islands is farther than 50 miles from the ocean. In fact, the farthest point from the ocean on any of the Hawaiian islands is only 29 miles from the ocean!
The oceans give us life!
How does all this stuff get to Hawaii?
About 80% of consumer goods (including our food, vehicles, and construction materials) in Hawaii are imported from other places in the US and from other countries. 98% of these imported goods travel to Hawaii by ship. (Mike Formby – DOT-Harbors)
Small plants, called phytoplankton or algae, in the ocean produce as much oxygen as all land plants combined. Algae also absorb as much CO2 from the atmosphere as all land plants.