Scientists aboard R/V Aiken conduct water-quality mapping in support of wastewater-derived nutrients project
Hydrologic technicians deploying a flow sensor on a shoal in San Francisco Bay to investigate phytoplankton production and nutrient transformations.
A view from the office: USGS scientists heading out to deploy sensors for sediment nutrient storage and release in Rodeo Lagoon.
USGS laboratory technician filtering for chlorophyll-a.
Scientists aboard research vessel Aiken conduct water-quality mapping in support of wastewater-derived nutrients project.
The Biogeochemistry (BGC) Group uses an interdisciplinary approach to address surface water quality issues and food web dynamics throughout California, particularly in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay.
Study areas include:
- Drivers of phytoplankton community composition and abundance and harmful algal bloom-related toxins
- Long-term continuous monitoring of numerous water quality constituents, phytoplankton, phytoplankton community structure, dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen as well as other constituents important to aquatic systems
- Changes in wastewater-derived nutrients and effects on phytoplankton community structure
- Effects of flow and water residence time on nutrient cycling and phytoplankton
- The impacts of invasive aquatic vegetation on water quality, water residence time, and native phytoplankton
- Assessing the role of wetlands in the Delta with respect to such topics as mercury, nutrients, drinking water quality and phytoplankton production
- Assessing the potential of tidal wetlands to mitigate land subsidence and sequester carbon
- Supporting improved water quality management through development of new sensors, analyses and techniques such as direct residence time measurements, custom sensor technologies, wide-area high-speed mapping surveys, remote sensing calibration and validation and other related activities
The BGC Group specializes in the application of in-situ optical sensors that monitor short- and long-term water quality trends. These sensors measure a host of biogeochemical parameters and capture continuous temporal trends – including those that may go undetected through traditional discrete sampling. The BGC Group also employs novel high-resolution boat-based mapping surveys, conducting intensive sampling for a diverse variety of biogeochemical parameters throughout the Bay-Delta.
These studies and data will help resource managers assess response to management actions and predict how the Bay-Delta will respond to future changes. The high frequency, real-time data can act as an early warning system for unanticipated, short-lived, or rapidly changing conditions, such as those due to spills, harmful algal blooms, and altered water-quality resulting from storms or levee breaches. The BGC group additionally specialize in the creation of novel data dissemination techniques in effort to ease open data acquisition, ultimately aiming to advance Bay-Delta science.
Additional Biogeochemistry Group staff include:
- Malanyon Adams
- Dulci Avouris
- Tom Bergamaschi
- Tim Baxter
- Heidi Bockisch
- Bryan Bonham
- Jake Brinkman
- Dylan Burau
- Jordy Conneely
- Ayelet Delascagigas
- Patrick Dellwo
- Nicholas Framsted
- Tommy (Hieu) Ly
- Andrea Jaegge
- Nathan Jumps
- Colin Keating
- Anne Le
- Ariana Maestas
- Kat Mai Cone
- Schuyler Nardelli
- Erica Nejad
- Diana Oros
- Emily Richardson
- Tara Schraga
- Jesse Schroeder
- Jennifer Soto-Perez
- Corrine Sanford
- Crystal Sturgeon
- Maura Uebner
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Assessing Sediment Nutrient Storage and Release in California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Evaluating the effects of wastewater-derived nutrients on phytoplankton abundance and community structure in the San Francisco Estuary and Delta
Modeling Nitrogen Reduction Benefit to Invasive Aquatic Vegetation vs. Native Phytoplankton
Monitoring Cyanotoxins in California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: Fixed Stations and High-Resolution Mapping Surveys
Creating a Model to Predict Future Carbon Levels in Tidally-driven Marshes
Trends in Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Methylmercury and Low Dissolved Oxygen Events in Suisun Marsh
Mercury and Dissolved Organic Matter in Delta Wetlands
Sources of Disinfection Byproduct-forming Material in the State Water Project
High-Speed Mapping of Nutrient Distributions and Water Quality Survey - Lower South San Francisco Bay
Dynamics of zooplankton in the Cache Slough Complex
Phytoplankton production and nutrient transformations in shallow water wetland habitats
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Scientists aboard R/V Aiken conduct water-quality mapping in support of wastewater-derived nutrients project
Scientists Collect Water Quality Data Prior to Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrades
Scientists Collect Water Quality Data Prior to Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrades
USGS Scientists Map Nutrients on Sacramento Delta
USGS Scientists Map Nutrients on Sacramento Delta
USGS Research Scientist Ellen Goodrich-Stuart adjusts a CH4 (Methane) analyzer mounted on the eddy covariance flux tower at the Rush Ranch site at Suisun Marsh.
USGS Research Scientist Ellen Goodrich-Stuart adjusts a CH4 (Methane) analyzer mounted on the eddy covariance flux tower at the Rush Ranch site at Suisun Marsh.
Hydrologist Brian Bergamaschi is seen through the USGS California Water Science Center Biogeochemistry Group's underwater water quality mapping manifold.
Hydrologist Brian Bergamaschi is seen through the USGS California Water Science Center Biogeochemistry Group's underwater water quality mapping manifold.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Lateral carbon exports from drained peatlands: An understudied carbon pathway in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California
Tidal wetland gross primary production across the continental United States, 2000–2019
Spatial variability of phytoplankton in a shallow tidal freshwater system reveals complex controls on abundance and community structure
Chemically enhanced treatment wetland to improve water quality and mitigate land subsidence in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: Cost and design considerations
Sequestration and transformation in chemically enhanced treatment wetlands: DOC, DBPPs and Nutrients
Aluminum- and iron-based coagulation for in-situ removal of dissolved organic carbon, disinfection byproducts, mercury and other constituents from agricultural drain water
Effects of ferric sulfate and polyaluminum chloride coagulation enhanced treatment wetlands on Typha growth, soil and water chemistry
Procedures for using the Horiba Scientific Aqualog® fluorometer to measure absorbance and fluorescence from dissolved organic matter
Sediment accretion and carbon storage in constructed wetlands receiving water treated with metal-based coagulants
Wetlands receiving water treated with coagulants improve water quality by removing dissolved organic carbon and disinfection byproduct precursors
Direct and indirect effects of tides on ecosystem-scale CO2 exchange in a brackish tidal marsh in Northern California
Use of flow cytometry and stable isotope analysis to determine phytoplankton uptake of wastewater derived ammonium in a nutrient-rich river
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Bay-Delta Water Quality Survey, 2018 and 2020 Comparison
Delta Survey Data Visualization Contents for 2018 and 2020
Bay- Delta Water Quality, Nutrient and Phytoplankton Mapping | US Geological Survey
Data visualization tool created for California's Bay-Delta Regional Monitoring Program. This web applicaton visualizes nutrients and phytoplankton spatially and temporally.
Assessing Phytoplankton and Nutrient Abundance in the San Francisco Estuary and Delta
A data visualizatoin exploring the relationship between nutrient distribution and phytoplankton under different conditions across the San Francisco Delta and Estuary. Assessing distribution and abundance aids understanding of how managing nutrient supplies affects aquatic food webs, helping managers evaluate the potential environmental benefits of future nutrient reduction efforts agains
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Below are partners associated with this project.
The Biogeochemistry (BGC) Group uses an interdisciplinary approach to address surface water quality issues and food web dynamics throughout California, particularly in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay.
Study areas include:
- Drivers of phytoplankton community composition and abundance and harmful algal bloom-related toxins
- Long-term continuous monitoring of numerous water quality constituents, phytoplankton, phytoplankton community structure, dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen as well as other constituents important to aquatic systems
- Changes in wastewater-derived nutrients and effects on phytoplankton community structure
- Effects of flow and water residence time on nutrient cycling and phytoplankton
- The impacts of invasive aquatic vegetation on water quality, water residence time, and native phytoplankton
- Assessing the role of wetlands in the Delta with respect to such topics as mercury, nutrients, drinking water quality and phytoplankton production
- Assessing the potential of tidal wetlands to mitigate land subsidence and sequester carbon
- Supporting improved water quality management through development of new sensors, analyses and techniques such as direct residence time measurements, custom sensor technologies, wide-area high-speed mapping surveys, remote sensing calibration and validation and other related activities
The BGC Group specializes in the application of in-situ optical sensors that monitor short- and long-term water quality trends. These sensors measure a host of biogeochemical parameters and capture continuous temporal trends – including those that may go undetected through traditional discrete sampling. The BGC Group also employs novel high-resolution boat-based mapping surveys, conducting intensive sampling for a diverse variety of biogeochemical parameters throughout the Bay-Delta.
These studies and data will help resource managers assess response to management actions and predict how the Bay-Delta will respond to future changes. The high frequency, real-time data can act as an early warning system for unanticipated, short-lived, or rapidly changing conditions, such as those due to spills, harmful algal blooms, and altered water-quality resulting from storms or levee breaches. The BGC group additionally specialize in the creation of novel data dissemination techniques in effort to ease open data acquisition, ultimately aiming to advance Bay-Delta science.
Additional Biogeochemistry Group staff include:
- Malanyon Adams
- Dulci Avouris
- Tom Bergamaschi
- Tim Baxter
- Heidi Bockisch
- Bryan Bonham
- Jake Brinkman
- Dylan Burau
- Jordy Conneely
- Ayelet Delascagigas
- Patrick Dellwo
- Nicholas Framsted
- Tommy (Hieu) Ly
- Andrea Jaegge
- Nathan Jumps
- Colin Keating
- Anne Le
- Ariana Maestas
- Kat Mai Cone
- Schuyler Nardelli
- Erica Nejad
- Diana Oros
- Emily Richardson
- Tara Schraga
- Jesse Schroeder
- Jennifer Soto-Perez
- Corrine Sanford
- Crystal Sturgeon
- Maura Uebner
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Assessing Sediment Nutrient Storage and Release in California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Evaluating the effects of wastewater-derived nutrients on phytoplankton abundance and community structure in the San Francisco Estuary and Delta
Modeling Nitrogen Reduction Benefit to Invasive Aquatic Vegetation vs. Native Phytoplankton
Monitoring Cyanotoxins in California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: Fixed Stations and High-Resolution Mapping Surveys
Creating a Model to Predict Future Carbon Levels in Tidally-driven Marshes
Trends in Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Methylmercury and Low Dissolved Oxygen Events in Suisun Marsh
Mercury and Dissolved Organic Matter in Delta Wetlands
Sources of Disinfection Byproduct-forming Material in the State Water Project
High-Speed Mapping of Nutrient Distributions and Water Quality Survey - Lower South San Francisco Bay
Dynamics of zooplankton in the Cache Slough Complex
Phytoplankton production and nutrient transformations in shallow water wetland habitats
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Scientists aboard R/V Aiken conduct water-quality mapping in support of wastewater-derived nutrients project
Scientists aboard R/V Aiken conduct water-quality mapping in support of wastewater-derived nutrients project
Scientists Collect Water Quality Data Prior to Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrades
Scientists Collect Water Quality Data Prior to Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrades
USGS Scientists Map Nutrients on Sacramento Delta
USGS Scientists Map Nutrients on Sacramento Delta
USGS Research Scientist Ellen Goodrich-Stuart adjusts a CH4 (Methane) analyzer mounted on the eddy covariance flux tower at the Rush Ranch site at Suisun Marsh.
USGS Research Scientist Ellen Goodrich-Stuart adjusts a CH4 (Methane) analyzer mounted on the eddy covariance flux tower at the Rush Ranch site at Suisun Marsh.
Hydrologist Brian Bergamaschi is seen through the USGS California Water Science Center Biogeochemistry Group's underwater water quality mapping manifold.
Hydrologist Brian Bergamaschi is seen through the USGS California Water Science Center Biogeochemistry Group's underwater water quality mapping manifold.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Lateral carbon exports from drained peatlands: An understudied carbon pathway in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California
Tidal wetland gross primary production across the continental United States, 2000–2019
Spatial variability of phytoplankton in a shallow tidal freshwater system reveals complex controls on abundance and community structure
Chemically enhanced treatment wetland to improve water quality and mitigate land subsidence in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: Cost and design considerations
Sequestration and transformation in chemically enhanced treatment wetlands: DOC, DBPPs and Nutrients
Aluminum- and iron-based coagulation for in-situ removal of dissolved organic carbon, disinfection byproducts, mercury and other constituents from agricultural drain water
Effects of ferric sulfate and polyaluminum chloride coagulation enhanced treatment wetlands on Typha growth, soil and water chemistry
Procedures for using the Horiba Scientific Aqualog® fluorometer to measure absorbance and fluorescence from dissolved organic matter
Sediment accretion and carbon storage in constructed wetlands receiving water treated with metal-based coagulants
Wetlands receiving water treated with coagulants improve water quality by removing dissolved organic carbon and disinfection byproduct precursors
Direct and indirect effects of tides on ecosystem-scale CO2 exchange in a brackish tidal marsh in Northern California
Use of flow cytometry and stable isotope analysis to determine phytoplankton uptake of wastewater derived ammonium in a nutrient-rich river
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Bay-Delta Water Quality Survey, 2018 and 2020 Comparison
Delta Survey Data Visualization Contents for 2018 and 2020
Bay- Delta Water Quality, Nutrient and Phytoplankton Mapping | US Geological Survey
Data visualization tool created for California's Bay-Delta Regional Monitoring Program. This web applicaton visualizes nutrients and phytoplankton spatially and temporally.
Assessing Phytoplankton and Nutrient Abundance in the San Francisco Estuary and Delta
A data visualizatoin exploring the relationship between nutrient distribution and phytoplankton under different conditions across the San Francisco Delta and Estuary. Assessing distribution and abundance aids understanding of how managing nutrient supplies affects aquatic food webs, helping managers evaluate the potential environmental benefits of future nutrient reduction efforts agains
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Below are partners associated with this project.