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    • Scaled photographs of surf over the full range of breaker sizes on the north shore of Oahu and Jaws, Maui, Hawaiian Islands, 1998-01 to 2004-05 (NCEI Accession 0001753)

    Metadata Updated: December 1, 2025

    Digital surf photographs were scaled using surfers as height benchmarks to estimate the size of the breakers. Historical databases for surf height in Hawaii are recorded in Hawaii Scale Feet (HSF), and these photographs have been used to translate HSF to trough-to-crest heights. Results show the trough-to-crest heights to be double the HSF within a 10-20% margin of error over the full range of possible breaker sizes. This assumes 1) the trough-to-crest height is defined as the highest height reached in the vertical between the crest and the preceding trough at any point along the wave front during breaking and 2) zones of high refraction on outer reefs are included for extreme days when Waimea Bay was the reporting location.

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Date 2025-05-06T13:33:31Z
    Metadata Created Date June 25, 2021
    Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) October 15, 2004 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Graphic not available.

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date 2025-05-06T13:33:31Z
    Metadata Created Date June 25, 2021
    Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) October 15, 2004 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nodc:0001753
    Access Constraints Cite as: Caldwell, Patrick; US National Oceanographic Data Center (2004). Scaled photographs of surf over the full range of breaker sizes on the north shore of Oahu and Jaws, Maui, Hawaiian Islands, 1998-01 to 2004-05 (NCEI Accession 0001753). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0001753. Accessed [date]., Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
    Bbox East Long -156.32
    Bbox North Lat 21.69
    Bbox South Lat 20.85
    Bbox West Long -158.1
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Graphic Preview Description Graphic not available.
    Graphic Preview File https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/gfx?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0001753
    Graphic Preview Type PNG
    Harvest Object Id 9286b6ba-26bc-4fdb-af5f-a9e8fad583d1
    Harvest Source Id c084a438-6f6b-470d-93e0-16aeddb9f513
    Harvest Source Title NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions
    Licence accessLevel: Public
    Lineage
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-158.1, 20.85], [-156.32, 20.85], [-156.32, 21.69], [-158.1, 21.69], [-158.1, 20.85]]]}
    Progress completed
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 1998-01-28
    Temporal Extent End 2004-05-24

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