Sea level rise becomes threatening for coastal areas: Rapa Nui Moai statues

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Rising sea levels are now threatening Rapa Nui’s Moai statues. 

According to a Cultural Heritage study by students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, by 2080, the rising sea levels could cause seasonal waves to reach Ahu Tongariki, the iconic ceremonial platform that is part of the Rapa Nui National Park. 

Paoa and his team built a digital twin of the study site and used advanced computer models to simulate the wave environment along the coastline. 

“This research shows a critical threat to the living culture and livelihood of Rapa Nui,” said Paoa, lead author of the study and doctoral student in the Department of Earth Sciences in the UH Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). “For the community, these sites are an essential part of reaffirming identity and economically the backbone of the island’s tourism industry.”

Using advanced computer models, Paoa and his team simulated future sea level rise scenarios, which allowed researchers to identify the cultural assets that will be flooded. 

“Our work is aimed to set potential timelines by which we could expect the impacts to happen,” Paoa says. “Finding that waves could reach Ahu Tongariki by 2080, urgent data is needed to incentivize community discussion and planning for the future.” 

The challenges facing Rapa Nui mirror those in other coastal areas of the world, including Hawaii. 

“While Hawaii is invested in protecting coastal infrastructure from sea level rise, the irreplaceable coastal cultural heritage sites in Hawaii and across the Pacific face the same urgent threat,” Paoa added. “By developing and applying these methods, we hope we can help protect what is precious to the people of Hawaii–provided such work is guided by, and deemed appropriate by, the Native Hawaiian Community.”

Paoa is actively using available data on coastal flooding to further investigate potential impacts of sea level rise on the island’s coastal cultural assets. Meanwhile, examining adaptation and mitigation efforts to safeguard the cultural heritage.