Hawaii Environmental Science

How can sea-level rise affect low-lying Hawaiian coasts?

• Eliminate all shoreline hazards
• Increase coastal flooding and erosion exposure
• Raise inland mountaintops equally
• Stop wave action completely

Why can invasive species be especially harmful to Hawaiian wildlife?

• Native species occur everywhere worldwide
• Islands have no unique habitats
• Introduced species never compete with natives
• Many native species evolved in geographic isolation

Which feature can make an island ecosystem especially vulnerable?

• Unlimited land area for every species
• No dependence on local resources
• Native species limited to small habitats
• Absence of ecological interactions

What primarily determines who and what is exposed during a volcanic eruption?

• The date of U.S. statehood alone
• The state’s postal abbreviation
• Only the color of ocean water
• Volcanic behavior and proximity to infrastructure

What is essential for planning tsunami evacuations in Hawaii?

• Hazard-zone maps and warning systems
• Guessing the wave height without data
• Using only rainfall records
• Assuming every coast is equally safe

What can trigger coral bleaching in Hawaii?

• Normal sunrise on every clear day
• Prolonged heat stress in unusually warm seawater
• Volcanic rock cooling on land
• The presence of cold freshwater alone