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Bay sediment budget: Sediment accounting 101

January 1, 2005
  • Comparison of a budget developed for 1955-1990 with a budget developed for 1995- 2002 showed decreasing sediment inflow and increased amounts leaving the Bay to upland disposal and sand mining, resulting in an increased rate of erosion of sediment from the Bay floor
  • Finding a way to shift disposal from the Ocean back to the Bay could provide sediment for restoration projects and decrease dredging costs
  • Increased erosion of the Bay is mobilizing legacy contaminants from the sediment bed
  • Restoration projects could increase erosion and mobilization of legacy contaminants
  • Sand mining, ignored in previous budgets, removes almost twice as much sediment from the Bay as dredging
Publication Year 2005
Title Bay sediment budget: Sediment accounting 101
Authors David H. Schoellhamer, Megan A. Lionberger, Bruce E. Jaffe, Neil K. Ganju, Scott A. Wright, Gregory Shellenbarger
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype Other Report
Series Title Pulse of the Estuary
Series Number 2005
Index ID 70174322
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization San Francisco Bay-Delta; Pacific Regional Director's Office