Hawaii Deep Water Cable Program : bottom roughness survey of the Alenuihaha Channel

Abstract

The Hawaii Deep Water Cable Program is responsible for determining the feasibility of laying multiple power cables between the islands of Hawaii and Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands. One major obstacle identified early in the program is the Alenuihaha Channel, 1920m deep between Maui and Hawaii, Figure 1 shows the cable route between the islands and the area selected for this survey. The Alenuihaha channel has been identified as a major obstacle based on its extreme depth, very steep slopes and relatively recent geology. Studies done on both the Alenuihaha Channel and other comparable areas in the Hawaiian Islands led to the conclusion that this channel would be the major bottom roughness obstacle to the cable laying operation. Faults, lava flows, old shorelines, reefs and large vertical escarpments are typical underwater features on the steep elopes of the islands of Maui and Hawaii.