Dynamics of the Physical Environment

at the USS Arizona Memorial: 2002-2004

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Open-File Report 2004-1353

Photograph courtesy of the National Park Service

Dynamics of the Physical Environment

at the USS Arizona Memorial: 2002-2004

Curt D. Storlazzi1, Matthew A. Russell2, Marshall D. Owens3, Michael E. Field1 and

Larry E. Murphy2

1

US Geological Survey, Pacific Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA

2

National Park Service, Submerged Resources Center, Santa Fe, NM

3

National Park Service, USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, HI

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Open-File Report 2004-1353

2004
LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1. Experiment personnel.

TABLE 2. Instrument package deployment log 11/2002 – 01/2004.

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE 1. Map of the study area location in relation to the main Hawaiian Island

chain.

FIGURE 2. Location of instrument packages in the study area.

FIGURE 3. Photographs of instrument packages.

FIGURE 4. Meteorologic forcing during the deployments.

FIGURE 5. Phasing between tides and near-bed (10 m) flow, acoustic backscatter

and particulate flux.

FIGURE 6. Near-bed (10 m) mean flow and its variability during a deployment.

FIGURE 7. Near-bed (10 m) and near-surface (3 m) temperatures and the resulting

thermal stratification.

FIGURE 8. Relationship between near-surface (3 m) temperature and salinity.

FIGURE 9. Phasing between tides and near-surface (3 m) temperature, pH, oxygenreduction potential and dissolved oxygen.

FIGURE 10. Phasing of temperature, pH, oxygen-reduction potential and dissolved

oxygen relative to the time of day and by season.

FIGURE 11. Vertical profiles of temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen off the

USAR dock.

LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1. Sontek Triton Information.

APPENDIX 2. YSI 6600 Sonde Information.
ADDITIONAL DIGITAL INFORMATION

For an online PDF version of this report, please see:

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1353/

For more information on the U.S. Geological Survey Western Region’s Coastal and

Marine Geology Team, please see:

http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/

For more information on the National Park Service’s Submerged Resources Center,

please see:

http://www.nps.gov/submerged

For more information on the National Park Service’s Submerged Resources Center’s

USS Arizona Memorial Project, please see:

http://data2.itc.nps.gov/submerged/dispproj.cfm?alphacode=USAR

For general information on the USS Arizona National Memorial please see:

http://www.nps.gov/usar/

DIRECT CONTACT INFORMATION

Regarding this Report

Dr. Curt D. Storlazzi, Oceanographer: cstorlazzi@usgs.gov

USS Arizona Memorial Project Information

Matthew A. Russell, Project Director: matthew_russell@nps.gov

REPORT REFERENCE

Storlazzi, C.D., Russell, M.A., Owens, M.D., Field, M.E. and Murphy, L.E., 2004.

“Dynamics of the Physical Environment at the USS Arizona Memorial: 2002-2004” U.S.

Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004-1353, 28 p.
INTRODUCTION

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Park Service (NPS) personnel

collected long-term (14 months), high-resolution physical and chemical oceanographic

measurements at the USS Arizona Memorial (USAR) in 2002-2004 to better understand

the nature of the environment surrounding the mostly submerged historic ship.

Scientists used two bottom-mounted, multi-parameter instruments deployed in water

depths less than 10 m to record critical environmental data. This study supports the

National Park Service’s Submerged Resources Center (NPS-SRC) research directed at

understanding and characterizing the nature and rate of natural processes affecting

deterioration of the National Historic Landmark (NHL) USS Arizona. The purpose of

these measurements was to collect hydrographic data to better constrain the nature of

the physical and chemical environment on the submerged vessel hull and near the

Memorial to determine how they vary over the course of a year.

This project represents a multi-agency approach to acquiring sound scientific

data requisite for future stewardship-based management actions. Several organizations

cooperatively funded this project: USGS, Department of Defense Legacy Resources

Management Fund, NPS Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program, USS Arizona

Memorial, Arizona Memorial Museum Association, and NPS Submerged Resources

Center.

Project Objectives:

The objective of the instrument deployments was to understand how waves,

currents and water column properties such as water temperature, salinity, pH, turbidity,

oxygen reduction potential and dissolved oxygen in the vicinity of the Memorial vary

over the course of a year. These data were collected to support the NPS-SRC research

to understand and characterize the nature and rate of natural processes affecting

deterioration of USS Arizona, designated along with USS Utah as NHLs, the nation’s

highest recognition of historic significance, on May 5, 1989. The project was designed

to be multi-year, interdisciplinary and cumulative, with each element contributing to

developing an overall management strategy designed to provide the basic research

required to make informed management decisions for long-term preservation of these

NHL sites. Understanding these issues is required for sound management decisions

regarding long-term preservation of these sites. In addition, this research program will

have global application to the many sunken steel heritage vessels, and it will serve as a

management model for NPS and partners who have stewardship responsibility for these

sites. To meet these objectives, flow and water column properties close to Arizona’s

hull were investigated. The two instrument packages were deployed over a period

spanning 14 months to investigate variability over daily-to-seasonal time scales.

Study Area:

Instrument deployments were conducted off the northwest corner of Ford Island

in the East Loch of Pearl Harbor, South-central Oahu, Hawaii, USA (FIGURE 1). The

long-term station measuring waves, tides and currents was deployed in 10 m of water

roughly 25 m southeast of Arizona’s port beam below the Number 1 turret; in November

2003 it was re-deployed in 10 m of water roughly 25 m northwest of Arizona’s starboard

beam below the Number 1 turret (FIGURE 2). The seafloor at these sites was an
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR–U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY–RESTON

Albers Equal Area Projection

Principal Islands of Hawaii

0 20 40 60 80 100

0 50 100 150

MILES

KILOMETERS

Hawaii

Maui

Oahu

Kauai

Molokini

P A C I F I C O C E A N

Hilo

Waimea

Kailua

Honolulu Molokai

157

160 159

158 156 155

20

21

22 Lihue

Niihau

Lehua Island

Kaula Island

Kahoolawe

Lanai

Wailuku

Hana

Lahaina

Kaunakakai

19

Study

Area

USS

Arizona

Makalapa

Crater

Aliamanu Crater

Main 

Channel

West

Loch

East

Middle Loch

Loch

Ford Island

Southeast

Loch

PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII

Walawa

Spring

Walau 

Spring

Salt

Lake

Honouliuli

Stream

Waikele

Stream

Kipapa

Stream Walawa

Stream Punanani Gulch

Waimalo Stream

Kalauao Stream

Aiea Stream

Halawa Stream

0 0.5 1 2

0 0.5 1 2 3

MILES

KILOMETERS

N

a)

b)

FIGURE 1. Map of the study area. a) Location of Pearl Harbor in relation to the 

main Hawaiian Island chain. b) Location of the USAR in Pearl Harbor relative to 

Ford Island, the main Lochs and sources of freshwater that empty into the harbor.
10/2002 12/2002 02/2003 04/2003

Month/Year

YSI-6600

Sonde

Sontek

TRITON

port side

starboard

side

06/2003 08/2003 10/2003 12/2003 02/2004

Deployments 1-7

Deployments 2-3 Deployments 6-8

Deployments 8 ->

FIGURE 2. Spatial and temporal distribution of instrument packages in the study area. a) Map of instrument 

locations relative to the USAR’s hull and Ford Island. b) Instrument deployment timelines. The colors of the 

timelines correspond to the instrument locations displayed in part “a”.

a)

b)

Depth (m)

High : -1

Low : -15

0 10 20 40 60 80

Meters
organic-rich, very well sorted fine silt/mud. The second instrument station, which

measured the physical environment, was deployed amidships on Arizona’s main deck

just forward of the Number 3 barbette and just aft of the Memorial. All diving,

mobilization and demobilization were based from the USAR dock on the eastern side of

the East Loch of Pearl Harbor, South-central Oahu, Hawaii.

OPERATIONS

This section provides information about personnel, equipment and vessels used

during equipment deployments. See TABLE 1 for personnel involved in this experiment

and TABLE 2 for complete deployment information.

Equipment and Data Review:

Two primary instruments acquired data during the deployments. The first

instrument was a SonTek Triton wave/tide gauge. The primary sensor on this package

is an upward-looking 10 MHz Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV), which collects threedimensional single-point measurements of current velocity and acoustic backscatter

data (FIGURE 3a). A pressure sensor on the Triton measured tide data that was

combined with the ADV data to measure direction wave spectra. The Triton employed

two different sampling schemes: First, it sampled the mean currents by averaging the

current speeds over a 1-min window every 10 min. Second, it sampled the surface wind

waves by collecting current and water depth data over an 8.5-min window every 2

hours. The second primary instrument employed was an YSI 6600 Multiparameter

Sonde (FIGURE 3b). The YSI Sonde collected single-point measurements on water

temperature and salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen and oxygen-reduction potential when

deployed on the hull 3 m below the surface; the YSI was also used in profiling mode,

collecting vertical profiles of water temperature and salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen and

oxygen-reduction potential.

The instrument packages were typically deployed for approximately one- to twomonth periods, as limited by the power consumption and sensor sampling rates. The

instrument package deployment and recovery log is presented in TABLE 2. The

instrument specifics and sampling schemes are listed in APPENDIX 1 for the SonTek

Triton and APPENDIX 2 for the YSI 6600 Sonde. When used in profiling mode, the YSI

was lowered from the surface to the seafloor in the early morning and the late afternoon

for three consecutive days. During these profiles all the sensors on the YSI sampled at

once per second. Daily data on meteorologic forcing over the study period were

recorded at the Honolulu International Airport roughly 5 km southeast of the study site.

These digital data were downloaded and compiled from NOAA’s National Climate Data

Center’s website (http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/climatedata.html).

Deployment/Recovery Operations:

The US Navy operates launches to transport visitors between USAR

headquarters and the Memorial about every 15 minutes. These navy launches

transported project scientists and instruments to the USAR Memorial dock. Prior to

installation of the SonTek Triton, diving scientists established a secure guideline from

Arizona’s hull out to the location where it would be deployed. The Triton and its semi-
a)

b)

FIGURE 3. Photographs of instrument packages and their mounts. a) The Sontek Triton sensor and sea bed mount. 

This mount was designed to be able to simultaneously deploy the YSI 6600 Sonde in the empty bracket on the right 

side of the photograph. b) The YSI 6600 Sonde and hull mount. Note the red pen in both photographs for scale.
permanent mount were initially deployed by lowering it just below the water’s surface

where scuba divers attached a lift bag and detached the lifting line. The divers followed

a marker line to the sea floor to move the instrument package into place. The divers

secured the instrument package with cables attached to sand anchors embedded in the

seafloor. Recovery and redeployment operations involved the same procedures.

The vertical profiles collected with the YSI were done from the USAR dock.

These entailed lowering the YSI to just below the surface for a minute to allow all of the

sensors to equilibrate, then slowly lowering the YSI from the surface, down to the sea

floor, then bringing it slowly back up to the surface.

DATA ACQUISITION AND QUALITY

Data were acquired on 362 days during the 14-month period between November

2002 and January 2004, for more than 85% data coverage over the entire experiment

period. Instrument refurbishment and battery failure accounted for the 64 days during

these 14 months that no data were recorded.

The SonTek Triton produced almost 77,750 observations from each sensor.

Data quality was generally very high. Scientists archived the raw Triton data, and

copies of the data were post-processed to remove spurious data whenever the beam

correlation dropped below 70%. The post-processed data were saved and copies were

de-sampled to hourly intervals to better visualize longer-term variability; these desampled copies of the data were also saved and archived.

The YSI 6600 Sonde produced data on 59% of days deployed (215 out of 362),

which resulted in just over 23,000 observations from each sensor. Data quality was

generally good, exceptions were from improperly calibrated sensors or when fouled by

biologic growth. The post-processed data were saved and copies were de-sampled to

hourly intervals to better visualize longer-term variability; these de-sampled copies of

the data were also saved and archived.

Six vertical profiles were collected using the YSI 6600 Sonde, with 100% data

recovery from the temperature, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen sensors. Due to

sensor malfunction, no pH or oxygen-reduction potential data were recorded during any

of the six profiles.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This section reviews data collected by both systems during deployments and

addresses significance of the findings to characterizing local oceanographic conditions

in the study area.

Meteorologic Forcing

The Hawaiian Islands, situated at roughly 21o North, are in the Trade wind belt.

Consequently, the study area is dominated by very low wind variability during the

summer periods when the Trade winds blow consistently; insolation (solar heating) and

thus air temperatures are high and precipitation is low (FIGURE 4). During the winters,

when extratropical lows and frontal systems propagate through the Hawaiian Islands

causing precipitation, weaker and more variable winds, decreased insolation and, thus,
-50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

1010

1015

1020

1025

Barometric

Pressure

[mbar]

-50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

20

22

24

26

28

Temperature

[deg C]

-50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

0

2

4

6

8

Precipitation

[cm]

-50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

0

2

4

6

8

Wind Speed

[m/sec]

Year Day 2003

FIGURE 4. Meteorologic forcing from the Honolulu International Airport for the time period 11/2002 through 01/2004. Note 

the variability between the spring/summer/fall Trade wind-dominated period (YD 60-300) and the winter storm periods.
lower air temperatures occur. Based on oceanographic measurements made at USAR,

decreased air temperatures and precipitation typically reduce water temperature and

salinity in Pearl Harbor. The Trade winds, which generally cause the highest sustained

wind speeds (excluding tropical cyclones) during the spring, summer and fall, are

topographically steered around the Koolau Range to the east of Pearl Harbor, often

approaching the south shore of Oahu from the south or southeast and resulting in

strong winds to the north or northwest over USAR. During the winter months, passage

of fronts and extratropical lows to the north of the Hawaiian Islands results in strong

northerly winds being funneled south between the Waianae Range to the west of Pearl

Harbor and the Koolau range to the East, resulting in strong winds to the south over

USAR. These winds can drive surface currents and cause mixing of the water column

at USAR.

Tides

Pearl Harbor tides are of the mixed, semi-diurnal type with two uneven high tides

and two uneven low tides per day; thus the tides change just over every 6 hours

(FIGURE 5). The mean daily tidal range during the study was roughly 0.6 m, while the

minimum and maximum daily tidal ranges are 0.4 m and 0.9 m, respectively.

Waves

Waves in Pearl Harbor during the study were generally extremely small, with

significant wave heights (Hsig) on the order of cm’s, with a range of 0.01 m to 0.08 m

and a mean Hsig ± one standard deviation of 0.03 ± 0.01 m. Dominant wave periods

(Td) are in a very narrow range between 19.85 and 20.38 sec, with a mean Td ± one

standard deviation of 20.19 ± 0.08 sec; these low height, long period waves all were

observed to come out of the southern quadrant (160o-200o). This narrow band range

and corresponding low wave heights suggest that the pressure sensor along the 10-m

isobath is at or near its resolution limits relative to the incident wave frequency.

Because the depth of penetration of wave-induced pressure fluctuations and orbital

motions decreases exponentially with depth and is dependant on wave height and

period, it appears that the SonTek Triton pressure sensor is only able to resolve longer

period motions at these small wave heights. Thus, the shorter period wind waves

typically observed in the afternoon when the Trade winds are blowing 10-20 m/sec are

too small in height and too short in period for the pressure sensor to resolve from its

depth of 10 m. The 20-sec period waves that are resolvable by the pressure sensor are

likely long period ground swell (North Pacific winter swell or South Pacific summer

swell) that has enough energy to propagate up the entrance channel of Pearl Harbor

and into the East Loch past USAR.

In addition to these natural small, long-period swells, the pressure sensor record

was often overwhelmed by high-amplitude, short-period (2-8 sec) modulations. These

modulations appear to be due to large vessels passing over or by the Sontek instrument

package, for they are anomalously large and have southeasterly (90o-150o) or

northwesterly (270o-330o) directions, likely the result of incident waves and wave

reflected off Arizona’s hull, respectively.
71.0 71.5 72.0 72.5 73.0 73.5 74.0

-0.5

0

0.5

71.0 71.5 72.0 72.5 73.0 73.5 74.0

-0.06

-0.04

-0.02

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

71.0 71.5 72.0 72.5 73.0 73.5 74.0

160

162

164

166

168

170

71.0 71.5 72.0 72.5 73.0 73.5 74.0

-10

-5

0

5

10

Year Day 2003

FIGURE 5. Phasing between tides and near-bed (10 m) flow, acoustic backscatter and particulate flux. Note the tide ebbs 

to the southeast and floods to the northwest while the acoustic backscatter appears to be greater in the afternoons. Tide [m] Currents [m/sec] Acoustic Backscatter [dB] Backscatter Flux [dB-m/sec]
Currents

Most daily variability in current speed and direction at the study site are due to

the semi-diurnal (12.4 hour) and diurnal (24.8 hour) tides. As the tide rises (floods),

currents in Pearl Harbor flow to the northwest towards Arizona; conversely, as the tide

falls (ebbs), the currents flow to the southeast roughly orthogonally away from the hull.

Mean current speeds ± one standard deviation are 0.020 ± 0.015 m/sec with a range of

0.001 m/sec to 0.122 m/sec along the 10-m isobath off the port (southeastern) side of

the hull (FIGURES 5-6). The orientation of greatest flow variability and mean flow is

oriented orthogonal to the hull and Ford Island, almost orthogonal to the southwestnortheast trend of the East Loch. These observations are unexpected—one would

generally assume that flow would be parallel to the Arizona’s hull and Ford Island.

However, observers confirmed these flow patterns during each instrument deployment

on both sides of the ship’s hull. Mean current speeds at the site along the 10-m isobath

off the starboard (northwestern or Ford Island) side of Arizona’s hull were slightly lower,

0.012 ± 0.013 m/sec with a range of 0.001 m/sec to 0.094 m/sec. Net flow over the

study’s duration was to the southeast at roughly 0.002 m/sec. Assuming flow remained

constant through this section of Pearl Harbor, the mean current speed measured along

the 10-m isobath of 0.002 m/sec would result in a total replacement of water along the

185-m length of the hull in just over 25.7 hours. Because oscillatory tidal flows enhance

these mean flow speeds, the actual replenishment time would typically be shorter.

The lunar tidal cycle drives the magnitude of the tidal currents, with the highest

tidal current speeds occurring during the spring tides (new and full moons) and the

weakest during the neap tides (quarter moons). While tides control the majority of the

variability in current speed and direction, insolation-driven Trade wind intensification

also appears to slightly influence daily variability. When the Trade winds blow at high

speed in the early to late afternoon, the net flow at the 10-m site appears to take on a

more northwesterly component. This shift might be due to the Trade winds blowing

obliquely onshore to the northwest along Oahu’s southern shoreline, which forces

oceanic water up into Pearl Harbor. We do not have information at this time that

indicates which process or combination of processes is responsible for the observed

intensification of northeasterly flow during the afternoon.

Water Column Properties

The water column properties collected included, with units in parentheses,

variations in acoustic backscatter (dB), temperature (oC), salinity (PSU), pH, dissolved

oxygen (“DO”, %) and oxygen-reduction potential (“ORP”, mV). Their ranges, variability

and potential causes for their variability are discussed here.

Acoustic Backscatter:

 Over the period of study, the acoustic backscatter, which is a function of the

particulate matter in the water column, 0.6 m above the seabed at the site along the 10-

m isobath ranged between 145.48 dB and 281.52 dB, with a mean backscatter ± one

standard deviation of 179.86 ± 20.64 dB. In general, highest acoustic backscatter

measurements occurred during winter months and the lowest during the summer

months. This peak in acoustic backscatter suggests that wintertime phenomena causes

increased particulate matter concentrations in the area around USS Arizona. Potential
Year Days 2003: 71 - 74

-0.06 -0.04 -0.02 0 0.02 0.04 0.06

-0.06

-0.04

-0.02

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

Eastward Current Velocity

[m/sec]

Northward Current Velocity

[m/sec]

FIGURE 6. Near-bed (10 m) mean flow and its variability during a deployment. Note the major axis of the 

current ellipse and mean flow is oriented orthogonal to the USAR’s hull and Ford Island, almost orthogonal 

to the southwest-northeast trend of the East Loch.
reasons for this increase in backscatter include: precipitation and runoff in other regions

of Pearl Harbor that would introduce fine-grained particulate matter into the harbor that

is advected into the area around USAR, or nutrients introduced into Pearl Harbor from

runoff might cause algal blooms that increase acoustic backscatter.

Acoustic backscatter was generally higher when the flow was to the south, likely

caused by fine particulate matter being drawn down from the shallow regions of the

northern half of the harbor. Acoustic backscatter also appeared to slightly increase

during the early to mid-afternoon and decrease through the night (FIGURE 5); this

suggests that either: (a) daily insolation-induced Trade wind intensification during the

day creates larger Trade wind-driven waves that suspend more fine-grained sediment

that is then advected by the sensor, or (b) more vessel traffic and prop wash during the

day in the harbor tends to suspend more of the fine-grained bed sediment, which settles

during the evening and night when vessel traffic subsides. We do not have information

at this time that indicates which process or combination of processes is responsible for

the observed intensification of acoustic backscatter during either the wintertime or in the

afternoons and evenings.

Temperature:

Over the period of study, water temperatures at the site along the 10-m isobath

ranged between 23.14 °C and 27.52 °C, with a mean temperature ± one standard

deviation of 26.03 ± 1.17 °C. At the shallower instrument location, the water

temperatures at the site along the 3-m isobath ranged between 29.42 °C and 19.15 °C,

with a mean temperature ± one standard deviation of 24.55 ± 2.08 °C. At both sites,

insolation typically warmed the water, often more than 0.7 °C atop Arizona’s hull at the

YSI instrument site, but only 0.2-0.3 °C along the 10-m isobath at the SonTek

instrument site. Thermal stratification, measured as the temperature difference

between the YSI’s temperature sensor on the hull (depth~3 m) and the SonTek’s

temperature sensor along the 10-m isobath, ranged between 0 and 2.5 °C, which

reflects a distinct thermocline in the harbor’s waters (FIGURE 7). This general trend of

warmer water overlying cooler near-bed water causes the water column to be thermally

stratified and stable, reducing interaction of the near-bed waters with the surface waters

due to density contrasts.

Salinity:

Over the period of study, the salinity at the site along the 3-m isobath ranged

between 16.78 PSU and 42.56 PSU, with a mean salinity ± one standard deviation of

34.33 ± 4.25 PSU. Salinity tended to correlate positively with water temperature

(FIGURE 8). This correlation is clearly seen when probable large surface runoff or

groundwater effluences are advected by the YSI Sonde during the winter months,

causing the temperature and salinity to rapidly drop. Gradual increases back to preevent levels over the course of a few days, likely due to current-induced mixing, follow

these sharp decreases.

pH:

Over the period of study, water pH at the site along the 3-m isobath ranged

between 7.60 and 9.10, with a mean pH ± one standard deviation of 8.04 ± 0.15. Most
30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

23.0

23.5

24.0

24.5

25.0

25.5

26.0

26.5

27.0

27.5

Year Day 2003

Temperature

[deg C]

Blue = Sontek (10 m)

Red = YSI (3 m)

30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

-1.0

-0.5

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

Year Day 2003

Thermal Stratification

[deg C]

YSI (3 m) Temperature - Sontek (10 m) Temperature

FIGURE 7. Near-bed (10 m) and near-surface (3 m) temperatures and the resulting thermal stratification. While both near-bed and near-surface 

temperatures both follow the same long-term trends, note the greater daily fluctuations in the near-surface temperatures and how they are, in 

general, much warmer than the near-bed temperatures. This general trend of warmer water overlying cooler near-bed water causes the water 

column to be thermally stratified and stable, reducing interaction of the near-bed waters with the surface waters due to density contrasts.
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

22

24

26

28

30

32

34

36

38

40

42

Temperature

[deg C]

Salinity

[PSU]

FIGURE 8. Relationship between near-surface (3 m) temperature and salinity. Note the positive 

relationship between these two parameters, which is typical of a water mass. The great offset, however, 

in salinity between 22 °C and 24 °C suggests that another lower temperature and salinity water mass 

was introduced into the Harbor, likely due to precipitation that occurred during the deployment.
variability in pH is at daily timescales; pH tends on average to rapidly increase from

approximately 7.9 at roughly 09:00 each morning to more than 8.1 around 13:00, then

decrease down to nominal levels of 7.9 by 21:00 (FIGURES 9-10). This daily increase,

which is often on the order of 0.05 to 0.35, suggests that pH levels at the study site are

related to daily insolation-driven warming or insolation-driven Trade wind intensification

and Trade-wind wave-induced mixing.

Dissolved Oxygen:

Over the period of study, the dissolved oxygen levels in the water at the site

along the 3-m isobath ranged between 0% and 288.5%, with a mean dissolved oxygen

level ± one standard deviation of 69.5 ± 58.8%. Similar to the pH levels, most variability

in dissolved oxygen levels is at daily timescales; dissolved oxygen tends to rapidly

increase at roughly 09:00 each morning, peak around 13:00, then decrease down to

nominal levels by 21:00 (FIGURES 9-10). This daily increase of 5-20% suggests that

dissolved oxygen levels at Arizona are related to daily insolation-driven warming or

insolation-driven Trade wind intensification and Trade-wind wave-induced mixing.

Oxygen-Reduction Potential:

Over the period of study, the oxygen-reduction potential at the site along the 3-m

isobath ranged between 150.0 mV and 397.2 mV, with a mean oxygen-reduction

potential ± one standard deviation of 289.2 ± 50.6 mV. Oxygen-reduction potential had

an inverse relationship with pH and the percentage of dissolved oxygen during the

summer months, with oxygen-reduction potential decreasing during the daytime and

increasing into the night, attaining it greatest values just before sunrise (FIGURES 9-

10). However, during the winter months when temperature and salinity were more

variable, oxygen-reduction potential had more variable positive relationship with pH and

the percentage of dissolved oxygen, suggesting that changes in salinity due to

precipitation and/or submarine groundwater discharge might be impacting the data.

Vertical Variability:

The temperatures during the vertical profiles taken in the early morning varied

between 27.83 °C and 28.72 °C, with the near-surface temperatures on average roughly

0.74 °C warmer than the near-bed temperatures. The salinities during these profiles

varied between 33.47 PSU and 34.38 PSU, with the near-surface temperatures roughly

0.79 PSU less saline on average than the near-bed salinities. The dissolved oxygen

levels during these profiles varied between 15.3% and 91.2%, with the near-surface

dissolved oxygen levels on average roughly 41.1% higher on average than the near-bed

dissolved oxygen levels (FIGURE 11).

The temperatures during the vertical profiles taken in the late afternoon varied

between 27.85 °C and 29.51 °C, with the near-surface temperatures roughly 1.32 °C

warmer on average than the near-bed temperatures. The salinities during these profiles

varied between 33.21 PSU and 34.35 PSU, with the near-surface temperatures roughly

0.91 PSU less saline on average than the near-bed salinities. The dissolved oxygen

levels during these profiles varied between 11.7% and 104.4%, with the near-surface

dissolved oxygen levels roughly 46.6% higher on average than the near-bed dissolved

oxygen levels (FIGURE 11).
71.0 71.5 72.0 72.5 73.0 73.5 74.0

71.0 71.5 72.0 72.5 73.0 73.5 74.0

71.0 71.5 72.0 72.5 73.0 73.5 74.0

71.0 71.5 72.0 72.5 73.0 73.5 74.0

71.0 71.5 72.0 72.5 73.0 73.5 74.0

Tide

[m]

Temperature

[deg C]

pH Oxygen-Reduction

Potential

[mV]

Dissolved Oxygen

[%]

Year Day 2003

-0.5

0

0.5

25.5

26.0

26.5

27.0

27.5

7.8

8.0

8.2

300

310

320

330

340

350

90

100

110

FIGURE 9. Phasing between tides and near-surface (3 m) temperature, pH, oxygen-reduction potential and dissolved 

oxygen. Note the shallow water temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen tend to increase during the day into the early 

afternoon and then decrease in the late afternoon into the early morning. Oxygen-reduction potential acts exactly 

opposite, attaining its lowest levels in the early afternoon and its highest levels by the early morning.
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

24.5

25

25.5

26

26.5

27

27.5

28

Temperature [deg C]

Decimal Day

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

8

8.05

8.1

8.15

8.2

8.25

8.3

8.35

8.4

8.45

8.5

pH

Decimal Day

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

240

260

280

300

320

340

360

Oxygen-Reduction Potential [mV]

Decimal Day

Year Days 2003: 80 - 127

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

Dissolved Oxygen [%]

Decimal Day

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

24

24.5

25

25.5

26

26.5

Temperature [deg C]

Decimal Day

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

7.8

7.85

7.9

7.95

8

8.05

8.1

8.15

8.2

8.25

8.3

pH

Decimal Day

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

260

280

300

320

340

360

380

Oxygen-Reduction Potential [mV]

Decimal Day

Year Days 2003: 324 - 387

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Dissolved Oxygen [%]

Decimal Day

FIGURE 10. Phasing of temperature, pH, oxygen-reduction potential and dissolved oxygen relative to the time of day and by season. Temperature, pH and 

dissolved oxygen increase towards early afternoon and decline through the night into the early morning while oxygen-reduction potential shows the opposite behavior during the summer months (left panel). During the winter months when precipitation increases, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and oxygen-reduction potential are much more variable and increase towards early afternoon and decline through the night into the early morning, likely due to changes in salinity (right panel).
27.8 28 28.2 28.4 28.6 28.8 29 29.2

Fall PM Casts - Average

Temperature [deg C]

Depth [m]

33 33.5 34 34.5

Salinity [PSU]

20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Dissolved Oxygen [%]

0

2

4

6

8

10

27.8 28 28.2 28.4 28.6 28.8 29 29.2

Fall PM Casts

Temperature [deg C]

Depth [m]

33 33.5 34 34.5

Salinity [PSU]

20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Dissolved Oxygen [%]

0

2

4

6

8

10

27.8 28 28.2 28.4 28.6 28.8 29 29.2

Fall AM Casts - Average

Temperature [deg C]

Depth [m]

33 33.5 34 34.5

Salinity [PSU]

20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Dissolved Oxygen [%]

0

2

4

6

8

10

27.8 28 28.2 28.4 28.6 28.8 29 29.2

0

2

4

6

8

10

Fall AM Casts

Temperature [deg C]

Depth [m]

33 33.5 34 34.5

Salinity [PSU]

20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Dissolved Oxygen [%]

FIGURE 11. Vertical profiles of temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen off the USAR dock. These

plots show how these parameters vary vertically from just below the water’s surface down to the sea floor

and how the vertical variation in these parameters changes over the course of a day. 
While mean near-bed temperatures did not vary significantly between the early

morning and late afternoon vertical profiles, it is quite apparent that not only did the

mean near-surface water temperatures increase significantly, but that a thermocline

stretching to 6 m below the surface warmed on average approximately 0.8 °C. Neither

salinity nor dissolved oxygen showed significant variations in the mean vertical profiles

taken in the early morning versus those taken in the late afternoon.

CONCLUSIONS

In all, more than 503,730 observations of currents, waves and water-column

properties were collected per day for 362 days over the course of 14 months between

November 2002 and January 2004 in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, USA. Significant

findings based upon these measurements and analyses include:

(1) Tides are of mixed, semi-diurnal type with a minimum, mean and maximum tidal

range of 0.4 m, 0.6 m and 0.9 m, respectively.

(2) Waves are not an important factor in the vicinity of Arizona’s hull. Those

observed were, while long period (~ 20 sec), very small (order of cm’s) and likely

due to open ocean long-period swell. Vessels passing close to the study site are

likely responsible for the high-amplitude, low-period motions that were observed.

(3) Flow along the 10-m isobath is dominated by semi-diurnal and diurnal tidal

motions, which are modulated to some degree by what appears to be wind

forcing during the mid- to late afternoon. Flow is primarily orthogonal to the

Arizona’s hull at ~ 0.020 m/sec, and net flow is to the southeast, away from the

hull at ~ 0.002 m/sec.

(4) Acoustic backscatter was generally higher in the winter months and during the

falling tide, suggesting advection of material introduced into the northern sections

of Pearl Harbor due to winter precipitation and its movement south past the hull

by ebbing tidal currents. Higher measurements of acoustic backscatter often

occurred in the afternoon, suggesting increased Trade wind-induced mixing or,

perhaps, increased vessel activity, which facilitates water column mixing and

fine-grained particulate resuspension.

(5) Water temperatures were generally slightly higher (mean = 26.03 °C) and less

variable (standard deviation = 1.17 °C) along the 10-m isobath than along the 3-

m isobath (mean = 24.55 °C, standard deviation = 2.08 °C). A thermocline was

often present in the harbor’s waters, with the shallower (3 m) and deeper (10 m)

water temperatures often differing by more than 2 °C.

(6) Salinity ranged from 16.78 PSU and 42.56 PSU, with a mean ± one standard

deviation of 34.33 ± 4.25 PSU. Salinity appears to positively correlate with water

temperature and suggests that Pearl Harbor’s waters are influenced by

freshwater runoff or groundwater effluence in the winter months.
(7) pH ranged between 7.60 and 9.10, with a mean ± one standard deviation of 8.04

± 0.15 and dissolved oxygen 0% and 288.5%, with a mean ± one standard

deviation of 69.5 ± 58.8%. Both pH and dissolved oxygen tended to correlate

with the daily insolation cycle, increasing during the morning into the early

afternoon followed by decreasing through the night to minimum levels just before

sunrise.

(8) Oxygen-reduction potential ranged between 150.0 mV and 397.2 mV, with a

mean ± one standard deviation of 289.2 ± 50.6 mV. Oxygen-reduction potential

had an inverse with pH and the percentage of dissolved oxygen during the

summer months and a positive relationship with pH and the percentage of

dissolved oxygen during the winter months when temperature and salinity were

more variable.

(9) During the vertical profiling, near-surface temperatures were on average roughly

1.03 °C warmer than the near-bed temperatures, near-surface temperatures

were roughly 0.85 PSU less saline on average than the near-bed salinities and

near-surface dissolved oxygen levels were on average roughly 43.9% higher

than the near-bed dissolved oxygen levels.

These data provide us with a much clearer picture of the nature of and controls

on the physical environment around USS Arizona’s hull in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii.

The complexity of the physical environment surrounding and influencing Arizona is

reflected in the number of interesting phenomena observed during this initial 14-month

study. The next step is to correlate these environmental aspects with active processes

affecting Arizona to refine the predictive model of the ship’s deterioration.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was carried out as part of a NPS-USGS partnership as part of an effort

in the U.S. and its trust territories to better understand and characterize the nature of

and variability in coastal processes. NPS-SRC Chief Larry Murphy, USGS Western

Regional Director Doug Buffington and Western Regional Geologist Michael Carr

deserve thanks for providing us with the patience, opportunity and support to carry out

these deployments. Joshua Logan (USGS) assimilated the NPS GIS data and

produced the maps presented in this report. We would also like to thank Ann Gibbs

(USGS) and Carissa Carter (USGS), who contributed numerous excellent suggestions

and a timely review of our work.
TABLE 1. Experiment personnel

Person Affiliation Responsibilities

Curt Storlazzi USGS Chief scientist, scuba diver

Matthew Russell NPS-SRC Co-chief scientist, led scuba diving operations

Marshall Owens NPS-USAR Memorial USAR Memorial curator, led refurbishment operations

Michael Field USGS Scientist, scuba diver

Larry Murphy NPS-SRC Scientist, scuba diver

Michael Freeman NPS-USAR Memorial Scuba diver

TABLE 2. Instrument package deployment log: 11/2002 - 01/2004

Instrument Island ID Depth (m) Date Deployed Date Recovered Latitude (dd) Longitude (dd)

Sontek Triton OA 10 11/21/02 01/30/03 21.36415 -157.95054

Sontek Triton OA 10 01/30/03 03/07/03 21.36415 -157.95054

YSI 6600 Sonde OA 3 01/30/03 03/07/03 21.36494 -157.94986

Sontek Triton OA 10 03/21/03 05/07/03 21.36415 -157.95054

YSI 6600 Sonde OA 3 03/21/03 05/07/03 21.36494 -157.94986

Sontek Triton OA 10 05/15/03 07/02/03 21.36415 -157.95054

Sontek Triton OA 10 07/08/03 08/29/03 21.36415 -157.95054

Sontek Triton OA 10 08/29/03 10/10/03 21.36415 -157.95054

YSI 6600 Sonde OA 3 08/29/03 10/10/03 21.36415 -157.95054

Sontek Triton OA 10 10/23/03 11/05/03 21.36415 -157.95054

YSI 6600 Sonde OA 3 10/24/03 11/20/03 21.36494 -157.94986

Sontek Triton OA 10 11/20/03 01/13/04 21.36473 -157.95081

YSI 6600 Sonde OA 3 11/20/03 01/22/04 21.36494 -157.94986
APPENDIX 1

SonTek Triton Information

Instrument:

SonTek Triton; s/n: R57

Transmitting Frequency: 10 Mhz

Depth of Transducer: 10 m

Blanking Distance: 0.18 m

Height of Sampling Volume: 0.80 m

Operating Mode: High-resolution, broad bandwidth

Beam Angle: 15 deg

Sound Speed Calculation: Set salinity, updating temperature

via sensor

Current Sampling

Sampling Frequency: 1 Hz

Time Ping: 00:00:00.30

Pings per Ensemble: 60

Time Between Ensembles: 00:10:00.00

Waves Sampling

Sampling Frequency: 2 Hz

Time per Ping: 00:00:00.30

Pings per Ensemble: 1024

Time Between Ensembles: 02:00:00.00

Total Files: 7

Data Processing:

The data were averaged over 1 hour (6 ensembles) and all of the data where the

beam correlation dropped below 70% were removed for visualization and

analysis.
APPENDIX 2

YSI 6600 Sonde Information

Instruments:

YSI 6600 Sonde; s/n: 02g0147

Initial Height of Measurement

above Bed: 0.25 m

Sampling Frequency: 2 Hz

Samples per Ensemble: 60

Time Between Ensemble: 00:10:00.00

Total Files: 5

Data Processing:

The data were averaged over 1 hour (6 ensembles) and all of the data where the

beam correlation dropped below 70% were removed for visualization and

analysis.