Littoral Sand Budget, Hawaii — Chamberlain 
179 
1962 1963 
Fig. 6. Seasonal fluctuations in beach sand reservoirs, selected beaches, northern, western, and eastern 
sectors, Oahu. (*Rates of accretion and erosion in cubic yards/yard of beach/month.) 
Along the eastern and northern sectors of the 
Hawaiian Islands beach erosion commences 
when steep, high waves of the Trade Wind 
Swell or the North Pacific Swell arrive. During 
periods of flat Trade Wind Swell or North 
Pacific Swell , or when the trade winds are 
disrupted by the flow of westerly air, the 
beaches generally accrete. 
CONCLUSIONS 
1. Much of the littoral sand found around 
the Hawaiian Islands is held on the beach as a 
beach sand reservoir. The larger individual 
beaches may contain 10 6 cu yd of sand between 
mean sea level and the landward edge of the 
beach. A more average volume for a typical 
Hawaiian beach is approximately 10 5 cu yd. The 
largest beach reservoirs are Papohaku, Molokai 
(10 6 cu yd), Polihua, Lanai (5 X 10 5 cu yd), 
and Polihale, Kauai (3 X 106 cu yd). 
2. More beach sand exists on the island of 
Kauai than on any other Hawaiian island 
(1.4 X 10 7 cu yd). Oahu has the next largest 
total beach sand reservoir (10 7 cu yd). The 
average volume of the beach sand reservoirs 
