Nearly 90% of Hanauma Bay’s beach could disappear by 2030, says UH study – Hawaii Public Radio

Hanauma Bay, Oahu (by Keith Roper CC BY 2.0 via Flickr).

A new study from the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is predicting most of Hanauma Bay’s beach will be underwater for a few days in 2030.

Researchers used models to show the impact of sea-level rise at the bay. They combined the lowest predicted rise of six inches with the island’s seasonal King Tides, when waves splash higher on the shore higher than normal.

It forecasts that 88% of the bay’s usable beach, or sandy portions, would be submerged in 2030…