We investigate mechanisms of sediment transport, resuspension dynamics in shoals, wave evolution in the shallows, wave attenuation in marshes, and transport of sediment between mudflats and marshes. We produce data sets for calibration of and comparison with sediment transport models, including wave parameters, suspended sediment concentration, and sediment flux.
This research is part of the project, “Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments.”
Objectives
Investigate mechanisms of sediment transport from shoals to channels
Investigate resuspension dynamics in subtidal and intertidal shoals, and determine critical shear stresses for these environments
Investigate wave evolution in the shallows, because of its critical importance to sediment resuspension
Investigate wave attenuation in marshes
Investigate transport of sediment between mudflats and marshes
Produce data sets for calibration of and comparison with sediment transport models, including wave parameters, suspended sediment concentration, and sediment flux.
Accomplishments
Four large deployments (30-40 instruments at 5-8 stations) measuring waves, currents, turbulence, and suspended sediment concentration have been completed: two in South San Francisco Bay, focused on exchange between shoal and channel, in collaboration with UC Berkeley; and two in San Pablo Bay, focused on transport between intertidal and subtidal regions, as part of a post-doctoral research project. See a video on this project. A smaller deployment in Corte Madera Bay was also completed, focused on wave attenuation in the shallows, as part of a larger San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission project.
Learn about all of the “Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments” research studies by choosing a title below.
Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments
Coastal watershed and estuary restoration in the Monterey Bay area
Transport of invasive microorganisms
Sediment transport in submarine canyons
Columbia River estuary
Sediment transport between estuarine habitats in San Francisco Bay
Drag and sediment transport: conditions at the bottom boundary
San Francisco Bay geomorphology
Below are data releases associated with this project.
Hydrodynamic, sediment transport, and sediment flocculation data from south San Francisco Bay, California, summer 2020
Hydrodynamic and sediment transport data from San Pablo Bay and Grizzly Bay, California, 2020
Hydrodynamic and sediment transport model of San Pablo Bay, California, Nov-Dec 2014
Hydrodynamic and sediment transport data from San Pablo Bay and Grizzly Bay, California, 2019
Sediment transport and aquatic vegetation data from three locations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, 2017 to 2018
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Sediment Transport in San Francisco Bay
The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers deliver half the amount of sediment they did 50 years ago to San Francisco Bay. Just as sea-level rise is accelerating, the demand for sediment is growing.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Cohesive sediment modeling in a shallow estuary: Model and environmental implications of sediment parameter variation
Numerical models of sediment transport in estuarine systems rely on parameter values that are often poorly constrained and can vary on timescales relevant to model processes. The selection of parameter values can affect the accuracy of model predictions, while environmental variation of these parameters can impact the temporal and spatial ranges of sediment fluxes, erosion, and deposition in the r
Seasonal variation in sediment delivery across the bay-marsh interface of an estuarine salt marsh
Seasonal, spring-neap, and tidal variation in cohesive sediment transport parameters in estuarine shallows
Numerical models for predicting sediment concentrations and transport rely on parameters such as settling velocity and bed erodibility that describe sediment characteristics, yet these parameters are rarely probed directly. We investigated temporal and spatial variation in sediment parameters in the shallows of San Pablo Bay, CA. Flow, turbulence, and suspended sediment data were measured at sites
Measuring settling velocity in a strongly tidal estuary
Predicting sediment transport in estuarine systems requires understanding sediment settling velocity, its range of fluctuations, and the shortcomings of the tools to measure it. Previous studies have used Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometry (LISST) instruments to measure particle size and Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters (ADV) to return estimates of settling velocity. We deployed both instru
The influence of neap-spring tidal variation and wave energy on sediment flux in salt marsh tidal creeks
Wave attenuation across a tidal marsh in San Francisco Bay
Bathymetric survey and digital elevation model of Little Holland Tract, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California
Wave attenuation in the shallows of San Francisco Bay
Mechanisms of sediment flux between shallows and marshes
Model-based interpretation of sediment concentration and vertical flux measurements in a shallow estuarine environment
Lateral baroclinic forcing enhances sediment transport from shallows to channel in an estuary
Interactions between waves, sediment, and turbulence on a shallow estuarine mudflat
- Overview
We investigate mechanisms of sediment transport, resuspension dynamics in shoals, wave evolution in the shallows, wave attenuation in marshes, and transport of sediment between mudflats and marshes. We produce data sets for calibration of and comparison with sediment transport models, including wave parameters, suspended sediment concentration, and sediment flux.
This research is part of the project, “Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments.”
Objectives
Investigate mechanisms of sediment transport from shoals to channels
Investigate resuspension dynamics in subtidal and intertidal shoals, and determine critical shear stresses for these environments
Investigate wave evolution in the shallows, because of its critical importance to sediment resuspension
Investigate wave attenuation in marshes
Investigate transport of sediment between mudflats and marshes
Produce data sets for calibration of and comparison with sediment transport models, including wave parameters, suspended sediment concentration, and sediment flux.Accomplishments
Four large deployments (30-40 instruments at 5-8 stations) measuring waves, currents, turbulence, and suspended sediment concentration have been completed: two in South San Francisco Bay, focused on exchange between shoal and channel, in collaboration with UC Berkeley; and two in San Pablo Bay, focused on transport between intertidal and subtidal regions, as part of a post-doctoral research project. See a video on this project. A smaller deployment in Corte Madera Bay was also completed, focused on wave attenuation in the shallows, as part of a larger San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission project.
The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers deliver half the amount of sediment they did 50 years ago to San Francisco Bay. Just as sea-level rise is accelerating, the demand for sediment is growing. The amount of sediment supplied to estuaries is important to the fate of shallow water habitats, including mudflats and tidal marshes. In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Geological Survey scientists and collaborators are investigating the influence of tides, waves, and water levels on sediment delivery and deposition in wave-exposed tidal salt marshes. - Science
Learn about all of the “Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments” research studies by choosing a title below.
Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments
Our research goals are to provide the scientific information, knowledge, and tools required to ensure that decisions about land and resource use, management practices, and future development in the coastal zone and adjacent watersheds can be evaluated with a complete understanding of the probable effects on coastal ecosystems and communities, and a full assessment of their vulnerability to natural...Coastal watershed and estuary restoration in the Monterey Bay area
Objectives: Support further work by the USGS and collaborating federal, state, and local agencies and academic partners in analyzing the effectiveness of restoration work in coastal watersheds and estuaries in the Monterey Bay area. The USGS will play a supporting role in field efforts led by NOAA and California State University - Monterey Bay to measure physical and ecological changes in the...Transport of invasive microorganisms
The objectives of his project are to investigate the vectors and timing of microbiological invasions and the subsequent dispersal of these non-native organisms due to sediment transport. We will attempt to confirm the identification of specific invasives encountered with molecular sequencing, monitor the spread of the invading populations through their recent distribution and the historic...Sediment transport in submarine canyons
Objectives: Produce a step-change in understanding of submarine turbidity currents by measuring their two key features (synchronous velocity and concentration profiles) in detail (every 2-to-30 seconds) for the first time, and documenting spatial changes in their flow velocity from source-to-sink for the first time.Columbia River estuary
This research is part of the project “Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments.” We aim to support regional sediment management in the Columbia River littoral cell by monitoring and modeling shoreline change, modeling fate of disposed dredged material, and studying bedform morphology.Sediment transport between estuarine habitats in San Francisco Bay
We investigate mechanisms of sediment transport, resuspension dynamics in shoals, wave evolution in the shallows, wave attenuation in marshes, and transport of sediment between mudflats and marshes. We produce data sets for calibration of and comparison with sediment transport models, including wave parameters, suspended sediment concentration, and sediment flux.Drag and sediment transport: conditions at the bottom boundary
Research on bed sediment grain size, bedform morphology, vegetation characteristics, and sediment resuspension and transport.San Francisco Bay geomorphology
The primary objective of this task is to develop tools for predicting the long-term geomorphic evolution of estuaries. Sediment core and historical change analysis will be used in combination with interpretation of high-resolution seismic profiles to develop tools for predicting geomorphic evolution of estuaries. Historical change analysis will use hydrographic and lidar data. Longer-term data... - Data
Below are data releases associated with this project.
Hydrodynamic, sediment transport, and sediment flocculation data from south San Francisco Bay, California, summer 2020
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center collected hydrodynamic and suspended sediment flocculation data at channel and shallow water sites in south San Francisco Bay in July 2020. The data were used to determine water column stratification, turbulence profiles, and floc size evolution. The goal of this project was to bound the controls on floc size and floc settHydrodynamic and sediment transport data from San Pablo Bay and Grizzly Bay, California, 2020
The U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center collected hydrodynamic and sediment-transport data at shallow water sites in San Pablo Bay and Grizzly Bay, in northern San Francisco Bay between January and September 2020. The data were collected to determine hydrodynamic forcing, bed roughness, suspended-sediment concentration, and physical properties of the sediment bed. ThisHydrodynamic and sediment transport model of San Pablo Bay, California, Nov-Dec 2014
A three-dimensional hydrodynamic and sediment transport model of San Pablo and Suisun Bays was constructed using the Delft3D4 (D3D) modeling suite (Deltares, 2021a) to simulate water levels, flow, waves, and suspended sediment for time period of Nov 1 to Dec 31, 2014. This data release describes the construction and validation of the model application and provides input files suitable to run the mHydrodynamic and sediment transport data from San Pablo Bay and Grizzly Bay, California, 2019
The U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center collected hydrodynamic and sediment-transport data at shallow water sites in San Pablo Bay and Grizzly Bay, in northern San Francisco Bay between June and November 2019. The data were collected to determine hydrodynamic forcing, bed roughness, suspended-sediment concentration, and physical properties of the sediment bed. This datSediment transport and aquatic vegetation data from three locations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, 2017 to 2018
We measured currents, suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), bed sediment characteristics, and vegetation biomass density in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in 2017-2018, as part of a project investigating the influence of invasive aquatic vegetation (IAV) on flow and sediment flux. This data release includes data from three sites: Lindsey Slough (April 2017), Middle River (March 2018) and the l - Multimedia
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Sediment Transport in San Francisco Bay
The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers deliver half the amount of sediment they did 50 years ago to San Francisco Bay. Just as sea-level rise is accelerating, the demand for sediment is growing.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 16Cohesive sediment modeling in a shallow estuary: Model and environmental implications of sediment parameter variation
Numerical models of sediment transport in estuarine systems rely on parameter values that are often poorly constrained and can vary on timescales relevant to model processes. The selection of parameter values can affect the accuracy of model predictions, while environmental variation of these parameters can impact the temporal and spatial ranges of sediment fluxes, erosion, and deposition in the r
AuthorsRachel Allen, Jessica R. Lacy, Andrew W. StevensSeasonal variation in sediment delivery across the bay-marsh interface of an estuarine salt marsh
Sediment transport across bay–marsh interfaces depends on wave energy, vegetation, and marsh-edge morphology, and varies over a range of timescales. We investigated these dynamics in a tidal salt marsh with a gently-sloped, vegetated edge adjacent to northern San Francisco Bay. Spartina foliosa (cordgrass) inhabits the lower marsh and Salicornia pacifica (pickleweed) predominates on the marsh plainAuthorsJessica R. Lacy, Madeline R. Foster-Martinez, Rachel (Contractor) Allen, Matthew C. Ferner, John C. CallawaySeasonal, spring-neap, and tidal variation in cohesive sediment transport parameters in estuarine shallows
Numerical models for predicting sediment concentrations and transport rely on parameters such as settling velocity and bed erodibility that describe sediment characteristics, yet these parameters are rarely probed directly. We investigated temporal and spatial variation in sediment parameters in the shallows of San Pablo Bay, CA. Flow, turbulence, and suspended sediment data were measured at sites
AuthorsRachel Allen, Jessica R. Lacy, Mark T. Stacey, Evan A VarianoMeasuring settling velocity in a strongly tidal estuary
Predicting sediment transport in estuarine systems requires understanding sediment settling velocity, its range of fluctuations, and the shortcomings of the tools to measure it. Previous studies have used Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometry (LISST) instruments to measure particle size and Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters (ADV) to return estimates of settling velocity. We deployed both instru
AuthorsRachel Allen, Jessica R. Lacy, Evan A VarianoThe influence of neap-spring tidal variation and wave energy on sediment flux in salt marsh tidal creeks
Sediment flux in marsh tidal creeks is commonly used to gage sediment supply to marshes. We conducted a field investigation of temporal variability in sediment flux in tidal creeks in the accreting tidal marsh at China Camp State Park adjacent to northern San Francisco Bay. Suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), velocity, and depth were measured near the mouths of two tidal creeks during threeAuthorsJessica R. Lacy, Matthew C. Ferner, John C. CallawayWave attenuation across a tidal marsh in San Francisco Bay
Wave attenuation is a central process in the mechanics of a healthy salt marsh. Understanding how wave attenuation varies with vegetation and hydrodynamic conditions informs models of other marsh processes that are a function of wave energy (e.g. sediment transport) and allows for the incorporation of marshes into coastal protection plans. Here, we examine the evolution of wave height across a tidAuthorsMadeline R. Foster-Martinez, Jessica R. Lacy, Matthew C. Ferner, Evan A. VarianoBathymetric survey and digital elevation model of Little Holland Tract, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California
The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a bathymetric survey in Little Holland Tract, a flooded agricultural tract, in the northern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (the “Delta”) during the summer of 2015. The new bathymetric data were combined with existing data to generate a digital elevation model (DEM) at 1-meter resolution. Little Holland Tract (LHT) was historically diked off for agricultural usesAuthorsAlexander G. Snyder, Jessica R. Lacy, Andrew W. Stevens, Emily M. CarlsonWave attenuation in the shallows of San Francisco Bay
Waves propagating over broad, gently-sloped shallows decrease in height due to frictional dissipation at the bed. We quantified wave-height evolution across 7 km of mudflat in San Pablo Bay (northern San Francisco Bay), an environment where tidal mixing prevents the formation of fluid mud. Wave height was measured along a cross shore transect (elevation range−2mto+0.45mMLLW) in winter 2011 and sumAuthorsJessica R. Lacy, Lissa J. MacVeanMechanisms of sediment flux between shallows and marshes
We conducted a field study to investigate temporal variation and forcing mechanisms of sediment flux between a salt marsh and adjacent shallows in northern San Francisco Bay. Suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), tidal currents, and wave properties were measured over the marsh, in marsh creeks, and in bay shallows. Cumulative sediment flux in the marsh creeks was bayward during the study, and waAuthorsJessica R. Lacy, L.M. Schile, J.C. Callaway, M.C. FernerModel-based interpretation of sediment concentration and vertical flux measurements in a shallow estuarine environment
A one-dimensional numerical model describing tidally varying vertical mixing and settling was used to interpret sediment concentrations and vertical fluxes observed in the shoals of South San Francisco Bay by two acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) at elevations of 0.36 m and 0.72 m above bed. Measured sediment concentrations changed by up to 100 g m−3 over the semidiurnal tidal cycle. These dynaAuthorsAndreas Brand, Jessica R. Lacy, Steve Gladding, Rusty Holleman, Mark T. StaceyLateral baroclinic forcing enhances sediment transport from shallows to channel in an estuary
We investigate the dynamics governing exchange of sediment between estuarine shallows and the channel based on field measurements at eight stations spanning the interface between the channel and the extensive eastern shoals of South San Francisco Bay. The study site is characterized by longitudinally homogeneous bathymetry and a straight channel, with friction more important than the Coriolis forcAuthorsJessica R. Lacy, Steve Gladding, Andreas Brand, Audric Collignon, Mark T. StaceyInteractions between waves, sediment, and turbulence on a shallow estuarine mudflat
Measurements were collected on a shallow estuarine mudflat in northern San Francisco Bay to examine the physical processes controlling waves, turbulence, sediment resuspension, and their interactions. Tides alone forced weak to moderate currents of 10–30 cm s-1 in depths of 0–3 m, and maintained a background suspension of 30–50 mg L21 of fine sediment. In the presence of wind waves, bottom orbitalAuthorsLissa J. MacVean, Jessica R. Lacy