Publications
For more than a century, USGS scientists have conducted research in California’s Bay-Delta region. Informing natural-resource management decisions on the region’s issues, this research has been published in thousands of documents, some highlighted below.
Filter Total Items: 307
Groundwater quality in the North San Francisco Bay groundwater basins, California Groundwater quality in the North San Francisco Bay groundwater basins, California
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California's drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State's groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. The...
Authors
Justin T. Kulongoski, Kenneth Belitz
California's BAY-DELTA: USGS Science Supports Decision Making California's BAY-DELTA: USGS Science Supports Decision Making
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are in the forefront of the effort to understand what causes changes in the hydrology, the ecology and the water quality of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and the San Francisco Bay estuary. Their scientific findings play a crucial role in how agencies manage the Bay-Delta on a daily basis.
Authors
James Nickles, Kimberly Taylor, Roger Fujii
Digital tabulation of geologic and hydrologic data from wells in the northern San Francisco Bay region, northern California Digital tabulation of geologic and hydrologic data from wells in the northern San Francisco Bay region, northern California
Downhole lithologic information and aquifer pumping test data are reported from 464 wells from a broad area of the northern part of the Coast Ranges in California. These data were originally published in paper form as numerous tables within three USGS Water-Supply Papers describing geology and groundwater conditions in Napa and Sonoma Valleys, the Santa Rosa and Petaluma Valley areas...
Authors
D. S. Sweetkind, E. M. Taylor
Organochlorine and PBDE concentrations in relation to cytochrome P450 activity in livers of Forster’s Terns (Sterna forsteri) and Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia), in San Francisco Bay, California Organochlorine and PBDE concentrations in relation to cytochrome P450 activity in livers of Forster’s Terns (Sterna forsteri) and Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia), in San Francisco Bay, California
We measured halogenated organic contaminants (HOCs) [polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT)] and P450 [e.g., ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase (EROD)] stress in livers from Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia) adults and Forster’s tern (Sterna forsteri) adults and chicks in San Francisco Bay (SFB). Penta BDEs and...
Authors
Garth Herring, Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Terrence L. Adelsbach, Mark J. Melancon, Katie R. Stebbins, David J. Hoffman
The Mt. Lewis fault zone: Tectonic implications for eastern San Francisco Bay The Mt. Lewis fault zone: Tectonic implications for eastern San Francisco Bay
No abstract available
Authors
Janet Watt, David A. Ponce, Robert W. Simpson, Russell W. Graymer, Robert C. Jachens, Carl M. Wentworth
Space use and habitat selection of migrant and resident American Avocets in San Francisco Bay Space use and habitat selection of migrant and resident American Avocets in San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a wintering area for shorebirds, including American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana). Recently, a new resident population of avocets has emerged, presumably because of the development of tidal marshes into salt-evaporation ponds. In habitat restoration now underway, as many as 90% of salt ponds will be restored to tidal marsh. However, it is unknown if wintering and...
Authors
Scott A. Demers, John Y. Takekawa, Joshua T. Ackerman, N. Warnock, N.D. Athearn
Wind-enhanced resuspension in the shallow waters of South San Francisco Bay: Mechanisms and potential implications for cohesive sediment transport Wind-enhanced resuspension in the shallow waters of South San Francisco Bay: Mechanisms and potential implications for cohesive sediment transport
We investigated the driving forces of sediment dynamics at the shoals in South San Francisco Bay. Two stations were deployed along a line perpendicular to a 14 m deep channel, 1000 and 2000 m from the middle of the channel. Station depths were 2.59 and 2.19 m below mean lower low water, respectively. We used acoustic Doppler velocimeters for the simultaneous determination of current...
Authors
Andreas Brand, Jessica R. Lacy, Kevin Hsu, Daniel Hoover, Steve Gladding, Mark T. Stacey
Spatial trends in tidal flat shape and associated environmental parameters in South San Francisco Bay Spatial trends in tidal flat shape and associated environmental parameters in South San Francisco Bay
Spatial trends in the shape of profiles of South San Francisco Bay (SSFB) tidal flats are examined using bathymetric and lidar data collected in 2004 and 2005. Eigenfunction analysis reveals a dominant mode of morphologic variability related to the degree of convexity or concavity in the cross-shore profileindicative of (i) depositional, tidally dominant or (ii) erosional, wave impacted...
Authors
J.A. Bearman, Carl T. Friedrichs, B. E. Jaffe, A.C. Foxgrover
California gull intrusions on breeding waterbird colonies and impacts to reproductive success: implications for the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project. California gull intrusions on breeding waterbird colonies and impacts to reproductive success: implications for the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project.
No abstract available.
Authors
Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, Collin A. Eagles-Smith
Mapping elevations of tidal wetland restoration sites in San Francisco Bay: Comparing accuracy of aerial lidar with a singlebeam echosounder Mapping elevations of tidal wetland restoration sites in San Francisco Bay: Comparing accuracy of aerial lidar with a singlebeam echosounder
The southern edge of San Francisco Bay is surrounded by former salt evaporation ponds, where tidal flow has been restricted since the mid to late 1890s. These ponds are now the focus of a large wetland restoration project, and accurate measurement of current pond bathymetry and adjacent mud flats has been critical to restoration planning. Aerial light detection and ranging (lidar) has...
Authors
N.D. Athearn, John Y. Takekawa, B. Jaffe, B.J. Hattenbach, A.C. Foxgrover
Temporal and spatial distributions of sediment mercury at salt pond wetland restoration sites, San Francisco Bay, CA, USA Temporal and spatial distributions of sediment mercury at salt pond wetland restoration sites, San Francisco Bay, CA, USA
Decommissioned agricultural salt ponds within south San Francisco Bay, California, are in the process of being converted to habitat for the benefit of wildlife as well as water management needs and recreation. Little is known of baseline levels of contaminants in these ponds, particularly mercury (Hg), which has a well established legacy in the Bay. In this study we described spatial and...
Authors
A. Keith Miles, M.A. Ricca
Analysis of pelagic species decline in the upper San Francisco Estuary using multivariate autoregressive modeling (MAR) Analysis of pelagic species decline in the upper San Francisco Estuary using multivariate autoregressive modeling (MAR)
Four species of pelagic fish of particular management concern in the upper San Francisco Estuary, California, USA, have declined precipitously since ca. 2002: delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus), longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys), striped bass (Morone saxatilis), and threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense). The estuary has been monitored since the late 1960s with extensive...
Authors
Ralph Mac Nally, James R. Thomson, Wim J. Kimmerer, Frederick Feyrer, Ken B. Newman, Andy Sih, William A. Bennett, Larry R. Brown, Erica Fleishman, Steven D. Culberson, Gonzalo Castillo