Sediment supply, salt marsh monitoring, and the carbon budget of Humboldt Bay, CA Active
Suspended-sediment measurements are essential for coastal planning, resource management, and for assessing the sustainability of salt marshes in relation to expected sea-level rise. Suspended sediment can have positive or negative effects, depending on its characteristics and amount, and on the location and ecosystem services of interest. Sediment deposition in salt marshes helps sustain marsh elevations as sea level rises but deposition in ports and shipping channels necessitates periodic dredging. High turbidity limits the penetration of light which impacts photosynthesis and primary production in estuaries. In Humboldt Bay, where relative sea level rise rates are higher than regional averages due to tectonic-related subsidence there is a general lack of knowledge regarding suspended-sediment supply, turbidity, and vertical marsh accretion rates.
This pilot study will provide estimates of suspended-sediment supply and marsh accretion that will be used to manage existing salt marshes, prioritize and design salt marsh restoration, assess the feasibility for the reuse of dredged materials for tidal marsh restoration, and will inform the regional sediment management plan. These data will also provide necessary calibration information for future efforts to develop numerical models of sediment flux and marsh accretion.
This study is part of a State Coastal Conservancy project to monitor and assess water quality, sediment supply, and marsh accretion rates in Humboldt Bay, CA. The CAWSC will partner with the Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) to install and maintain monitoring equipment and to collect and analyze water quality samples and marsh accretion data using standardized USGS methods. The WERC will characterize vertical marsh accretion in four salt marshes and compare these to long-term marsh accretion rates determined by UCLA under a separate agreement. The CAWSC will measure continuous in-situ water quality data (turbidity, specific conductance, water temperature) in two of the marshes, will develop regression models to compute suspended-sediment concentration from turbidity, will conduct a storm-event deposition study, and will estimate suspended-sediment supply to Humboldt Bay from watershed sources under current and future climatic conditions using a coupled water balance model-sediment rating curve approach.
Salt marsh monitoring during water years 2013 to 2019, Humboldt Bay, CA – water levels, surface deposition, elevation change, and carbon storage
Model Archive Summary for a Suspended-Sediment Concentration Surrogate Regression Model for Station 405219124085601; Mad River Slough near Arcata, CA
Model Archive Summary for a Suspended-Sediment Concentration Surrogate Regression Model for Station 404038124131801; Hookton Slough near Loleta, CA
A summary of water-quality and salt marsh monitoring, Humboldt Bay, California
Amplified impact of climate change on fine-sediment delivery to a subsiding coast, Humboldt Bay, California
Below are partners associated with this project.
- Overview
Suspended-sediment measurements are essential for coastal planning, resource management, and for assessing the sustainability of salt marshes in relation to expected sea-level rise. Suspended sediment can have positive or negative effects, depending on its characteristics and amount, and on the location and ecosystem services of interest. Sediment deposition in salt marshes helps sustain marsh elevations as sea level rises but deposition in ports and shipping channels necessitates periodic dredging. High turbidity limits the penetration of light which impacts photosynthesis and primary production in estuaries. In Humboldt Bay, where relative sea level rise rates are higher than regional averages due to tectonic-related subsidence there is a general lack of knowledge regarding suspended-sediment supply, turbidity, and vertical marsh accretion rates.
This pilot study will provide estimates of suspended-sediment supply and marsh accretion that will be used to manage existing salt marshes, prioritize and design salt marsh restoration, assess the feasibility for the reuse of dredged materials for tidal marsh restoration, and will inform the regional sediment management plan. These data will also provide necessary calibration information for future efforts to develop numerical models of sediment flux and marsh accretion.
This study is part of a State Coastal Conservancy project to monitor and assess water quality, sediment supply, and marsh accretion rates in Humboldt Bay, CA. The CAWSC will partner with the Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) to install and maintain monitoring equipment and to collect and analyze water quality samples and marsh accretion data using standardized USGS methods. The WERC will characterize vertical marsh accretion in four salt marshes and compare these to long-term marsh accretion rates determined by UCLA under a separate agreement. The CAWSC will measure continuous in-situ water quality data (turbidity, specific conductance, water temperature) in two of the marshes, will develop regression models to compute suspended-sediment concentration from turbidity, will conduct a storm-event deposition study, and will estimate suspended-sediment supply to Humboldt Bay from watershed sources under current and future climatic conditions using a coupled water balance model-sediment rating curve approach.
- Data
Salt marsh monitoring during water years 2013 to 2019, Humboldt Bay, CA – water levels, surface deposition, elevation change, and carbon storage
This data release includes montorting data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Humboldt Bay Water Quality and Salt Marsh Monitoring Project. The datasets include continuous water levels collected at a 6-minute timestep collected in two study marshes (Mad River and Hookton). Surface deposition, elevation changes and carbon storage (in marsh edge environments) measured in five USGS studyModel Archive Summary for a Suspended-Sediment Concentration Surrogate Regression Model for Station 405219124085601; Mad River Slough near Arcata, CA
Model archive summary (MAS) describing the development of a suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) surrogate regression model for the Mad River Slough near Arcata, CA water quality station (USGS site ID# 405219124085601). A 15-minute SSC record was computed using this regression model for the period of record (03-04-2016 to 09-10-2019). The computed SSC record can be found on NWIS Web at https://wModel Archive Summary for a Suspended-Sediment Concentration Surrogate Regression Model for Station 404038124131801; Hookton Slough near Loleta, CA
Model archive summary (MAS) describing the development of a suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) surrogate regression model for the Hookton Slough near Loleta, CA water quality station (USGS site ID# 404038124131801). A continuous 15-minute SSC record was computed using this regression model for the period of record (03-04-2016 to 09-10-2019). The computed SSC record can be found on NWIS Web at - Publications
A summary of water-quality and salt marsh monitoring, Humboldt Bay, California
This report summarizes data-collection activities associated with the U.S. Geological Survey Humboldt Bay Water-Quality and Salt Marsh Monitoring Project. This work was undertaken to gain a comprehensive understanding of water-quality conditions, salt marsh accretion processes, marsh-edge erosion, and soil-carbon storage in Humboldt Bay, California. Multiparameter sondes recorded water temperatureAuthorsJennifer A. Curtis, Karen M. Thorne, Chase M. Freeman, Kevin J. Buffington, Judith Z. DrexlerAmplified impact of climate change on fine-sediment delivery to a subsiding coast, Humboldt Bay, California
In Humboldt Bay, tectonic subsidence exacerbates sea-level rise (SLR). To build surface elevations and to keep pace with SLR, the sediment demand created by subsidence and SLR must be balanced by an adequate sediment supply. This study used an ensemble of plausible future scenarios to predict potential climate change impacts on suspended-sediment discharge (Qss) from fluvial sources. Streamflow waAuthorsJennifer Curtis, Lorraine E. Flint, Michelle A. Stern, Jack Lewis, Randy D. Klein - Partners
Below are partners associated with this project.