Remote Sensing of Mercury Pollution in South San Francisco Bay Active
San Francisco Bay has a long history of being subject to natural resources exploitation and pollution. Ongoing flux of contaminants into the bay, legacy pollution from the Gold Rush era and structural modifications still influence the natural ecosystem today. This project aims to map multiple forms (i.e. species) of mercury -- one of the major contaminants in the bay -- to help inform restoration activities and monitor water quality after extreme weather events.
In recent decades, conservation and management efforts in San Francisco Bay have grown. Groups like the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project (SBSPRP) are working to restore the natural environment by restoring over 15,000 acres of industrial salt ponds to tidal wetlands and other habitats. At the same time, changes in climate and increasing storm and severe weather events are bringing unprecedented changes to the bay. A lot is going on, and there is a lot to keep track of.
This project aims to map multiple forms (i.e. species) of mercury -- one of the major contaminants in the bay -- to help inform restoration activities and monitor water quality after severe weather events. Mercury is a neurotoxin that poses risk to humans and wildlife, and methylmercury is of particular concern because it bioaccumulates in aquatic food webs and can cause a wide range of impairments in fish, birds and humans. Our goal is to create a time series of maps of the four main mercury species (dissolved and particulate total mercury and methyl mercury) in South San Francisco Bay. To do that we are gathering and using a combination of satellite imagery, shipboard radiometry, and in-water data.
We are working with the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project to monitor water quality before, during, and after their restoration activities. We are also looking at atmospheric rivers and other extreme weather events to understand how these impact water quality and mercury distribution in the bay. Our project builds on previous work mapping mercury in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (link: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/california-water-science-center/science/high-resolution-temporal-and-spatial-mapping?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects). Project funding is provided by the USGS Bay-Delta Priority Ecosystem Studies Program and the USGS National Land Imaging Program).
- Overview
San Francisco Bay has a long history of being subject to natural resources exploitation and pollution. Ongoing flux of contaminants into the bay, legacy pollution from the Gold Rush era and structural modifications still influence the natural ecosystem today. This project aims to map multiple forms (i.e. species) of mercury -- one of the major contaminants in the bay -- to help inform restoration activities and monitor water quality after extreme weather events.
In recent decades, conservation and management efforts in San Francisco Bay have grown. Groups like the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project (SBSPRP) are working to restore the natural environment by restoring over 15,000 acres of industrial salt ponds to tidal wetlands and other habitats. At the same time, changes in climate and increasing storm and severe weather events are bringing unprecedented changes to the bay. A lot is going on, and there is a lot to keep track of.
This project aims to map multiple forms (i.e. species) of mercury -- one of the major contaminants in the bay -- to help inform restoration activities and monitor water quality after severe weather events. Mercury is a neurotoxin that poses risk to humans and wildlife, and methylmercury is of particular concern because it bioaccumulates in aquatic food webs and can cause a wide range of impairments in fish, birds and humans. Our goal is to create a time series of maps of the four main mercury species (dissolved and particulate total mercury and methyl mercury) in South San Francisco Bay. To do that we are gathering and using a combination of satellite imagery, shipboard radiometry, and in-water data.
We are working with the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project to monitor water quality before, during, and after their restoration activities. We are also looking at atmospheric rivers and other extreme weather events to understand how these impact water quality and mercury distribution in the bay. Our project builds on previous work mapping mercury in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (link: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/california-water-science-center/science/high-resolution-temporal-and-spatial-mapping?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects). Project funding is provided by the USGS Bay-Delta Priority Ecosystem Studies Program and the USGS National Land Imaging Program).