Time-series data of water surface elevation, waves, currents, temperature, and turbidity collected between November 2017 and March 2018 off the west coast of Maui, Hawaii, USA

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coral Reef Project collected these data as part of an effort in the United States and its trust territories to better understand the effects of geologic and oceanographic processes on coral reef systems. This project was funded by the USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Deltares Impacts of Extreme Weather (11203752) Strategic Research Program. The project goals were to (1) resolve and simulate the hydrodynamics and terrestrial sediment dynamics off the coast of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Watershed Priority Initiative priority study area and (2) provide information on terrestrial sediment dispersal and residence times over nearshore coral reefs for present conditions as well as potential watershed restoration scenarios. To achieve these goals, the USGS and Deltares collaborated on a two-part effort involving a field campaign and a physics-based, coupled circulation and sediment dynamics model for the West Maui region. During the 4-month field campaign, the USGS collected time series data of tides, waves, currents, and turbidity off the coast of West Maui. These data were then used to calibrate and validate the model, which simulated rain-driven flood events during different wave conditions and watershed restoration scenarios. With these model simulations, we examined how sediment that discharged from West Maui streams affected coral reefs habitats in the adjacent coastal waters, and we assessed how the patterns and magnitude of these effects changed under different wave conditions and watershed restoration scenarios.