Honolulu Hawaii Hydrology.

Water is so important to life, and all living organisms depend on it.

 

And each place on earth has a unique system of hydrology to follow after. Ground water is one of Honolulu’s most important natural resources. It is used for drinking water, irrigation, and domestic, commercial, and industrial needs. Ground water provides about 99 percent of Hawaii’s domestic water and about 50 percent of all freshwater used in the State. The most extensive and productive aquifers, permeable formation from which water may be extracted, in the Hawaiian islands are formed by volcanic rocks that erupted during the principal building stage of each volcano.

 

 Ground-water resources can be limited because of water-quality, environmental, or economic concerns. Water beneath the ground surface occurs in two principal zones: the unsaturated zone and the saturated zone. In the unsaturated zone, the pore spaces in rocks contain both air and water, whereas in the saturated zone, the pore spaces are filled with water. The upper surface of the saturated zone is referred to as the water table, which is the level that which water rises.

 

 

VIDEO: Better understanding of Groundwater .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQRvN6MUajE

 

 

In Hawaii, the major fresh groundwater systems are below the lowest water table, and are either freshwater-lens or dike-impounded systems. Where freshwater-lens and dike-impounded systems are adjacent, they form a single, hydrologically connected ground-water flow system.

 

 

 

The main factors limiting groundwater availability in the State of Hawaii are saltwater intrusion, the reduction of discharge to streams and the ocean, and lowering of water levels. When water is withdrawn from a freshwater lens, the freshwater lens shrinks and saltwater or brackish water will intrude upward and landward into parts of the aquifer that formerly contained freshwater. The degree of saltwater intrusion depends on several factors, which include the hydraulic properties of the rocks, recharge rate, pumping rate, and well location.

Resources:
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthgwaquifer.html
http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/unsaturated.html
http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/czm/initiative/wec/html/mountain/water/ground.htm
And my notes =]

Don't say YES, say VolcaNO!

-------------Don't say YES, say VolcaNO! --------

The islands of Hawaii weren’t actually magically just there like you would have thought right.

 

 The islands were created along tectonic plates where the oceanic plates dive under continental plates.  The intense heat and pressure melts the rock. Molten rock material, magma, can then ooze its way toward the surface where it accumulates at the surface to create a volcano.  Hotspots are another important aspect of the Hawaii’s creation.  They are places where a chamber of magma has accumulated at depth beneath the surface.

 

Honolulu is a beautiful place. But it is inhabited by a volcano that is very well known in Hawaii. This volcano is called the Diamond Head, and received its name from the British sailors in the 1800s. But enough about history let’s explore the geology of this volcano.  The Diamondhead volcano is a Cinder Cone volcano. These types of volcanoes are pretty common volcanoes; they are composed of layers of pyroclastic material built from rock fragments once lodged in the central vent of the volcano. It is a volcanic crater which was formed from a volcano crater is a circular depression around a volcanic vent.

 

 This is where the lava, ash and rock erupt out of a volcano. In most situations, the volcano crater is located at the top of the volcano. This is a situation where magma rises through water-saturated rocks and causes steam to build up under the surface. The pressure from all the steam causes the rock to explode outward and create a volcanic crater.

 

 

Aloha!

In 2002 a young 9 year old boy by the name of Aaron Williams (me), witnessed a movie that would change my life forever. I am actually talking about the ground breaking amazing riveting and thrilling movie called Lilo and Stitch.

 Yes that is right, Lilo and Stitch. Besides the great story of an alien creature and the strong bond he creates with his human counterpart, I was interested in where the story took place. Honolulu, Hawaii is the setting of this movie I began becoming invested of the movies surroundings. Although animated I decided to research what this “cartoon world” actually looked like. And my mind was blown. It was beautiful, the big seas, the mountains, the volcanoes, the culture it all captured my interest.

Since then I have always wanted to visit this place and bask in its glory. So I have decided to Blog about this heavenly place to find out more about the amazing aspects of its geographic features and to go in detail about how this place became so amazing. So I would like to thank Lilo and Stitch for giving me such insight on this amazing place. Oh and thanks to my mom for taking me to see the movie