Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

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

Sediment deposition and erosion in south San Francisco Bay, California from 1956 to 2005 Sediment deposition and erosion in south San Francisco Bay, California from 1956 to 2005

Sediment deposition and erosion in South San Francisco Bay from 1956 to 2005 was studied by comparing bathymetric surveys made in 1956, 1983, and 2005. From 1956 to 1983, the region was erosional. In contrast, from 1983 to 2005, the region was depositional. Analysis of subregions defined by depth, morphology and location revealed similarities in behavior during both the erosional and...
Authors
Bruce Jaffe, Amy C. Foxgrover

A history of intertidal flat area in south San Francisco Bay, California: 1858 to 2005 A history of intertidal flat area in south San Francisco Bay, California: 1858 to 2005

A key question in salt pond restoration in South San Francisco Bay is whether sediment sinks created by opening ponds will result in the loss of intertidal flats. Analyses of a series of bathymetric surveys of South San Francisco Bay made from 1858 to 2005 reveal changes in intertidal flat area in both space and time that can be used to better understand the pre-restoration system. This...
Authors
Bruce Jaffe, Amy C. Foxgrover

Near-Field Receiving Water Monitoring of trace metals and a benthic community near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay, California: 2005 Near-Field Receiving Water Monitoring of trace metals and a benthic community near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay, California: 2005

Trace elements in sediment and the clam Macoma petalum (formerly reported as Macoma balthica (Cohen and Carlton 1995)), clam reproductive activity and benthic, macroinvertebrate community structure are reported for a mudflat one kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay. This report includes data collected for the...
Authors
Daniel J. Cain, Francis Parcheso, Janet K. Thompson, Samuel N. Luoma, Allison H. Lorenzi, Edward Moon, Michelle K. Shouse, Michelle I. Hornberger, Jessica Dyke

A tool for assessing mercury loadings from restored tidal systems A tool for assessing mercury loadings from restored tidal systems

Accurately quantifying net loads in tidal systems is difficult owing to the high variability in constituent concentrations over the vastly different time scales present in these systems. Perhaps most difficult is the measurement of fluxed over the tidal time scale. On this scale, the net export of the constituent is orders of magnitude less than the bulk exchange in either direction...
Authors
J.A. Fleck, B.A. Bergamaschi, B.D. Downing, M. A. Lionberger, D. H. Schoellhamer, E. Boss, M. Stephenson

Eutrophication of freshwater and marine ecosystems Eutrophication of freshwater and marine ecosystems

Initial understanding of the links between nutrients and aquatic productivity originated in Europe in the early 1900s, and our knowledge base has expanded greatly during the past 40 yr. This explosion of eutrophication-related research has made it unequivocally clear that a comprehensive strategy to prevent excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus from entering our waterways is...
Authors
Val H. Smith, Samantha B. Joye, Robert W. Howarth

Mapping new terrain climate change and America’s West: Anticipating challenges to western mountain ecosystems and resources Mapping new terrain climate change and America’s West: Anticipating challenges to western mountain ecosystems and resources

Climate variability and sustained change presage far-reaching transformations across America’s West, an expanse dominated by immense mountain ranges and interspersed with important urban centers. These mountains provide the region’s life blood—water that courses through its streams and runs out its faucets, power that fuels its industries and lights its cities, and natural resources that...
Authors

Projecting future sea level Projecting future sea level

California’s coastal observations and global model projections indicate that California’s open coast and estuaries will experience increasing sea levels over the next century. Sea level rise has affected much of the coast of California, including the Southern California coast, the Central California open coast, and the San Francisco Bay and upper estuary. These trends, quantified from a...
Authors
Daniel R. Cayan, Peter Bromirski, Katharine Hayhoe, Mary Tyree, Mike Dettinger, Reinhard Flick

Trophic structure and avian communities across a salinity gradient in evaporation ponds of the San Francisco Bay estuary Trophic structure and avian communities across a salinity gradient in evaporation ponds of the San Francisco Bay estuary

Commercial salt evaporation ponds comprise a large proportion of baylands adjacent to the San Francisco Bay, a highly urbanized estuary. In the past two centuries, more than 79% of the historic tidal wetlands in this estuary have been lost. Resource management agencies have acquired more than 10 000 ha of commercial salt ponds with plans to undertake one of the largest wetland...
Authors
John Y. Takekawa, A.K. Miles, D. H. Schoellhamer, N.D. Athearn, M. K. Saiki, W.D. Duffy, S. Kleinschmidt, G.G. Shellenbarger, C.A. Jannusch

Estimates of suspended sediment entering San Francisco Bay from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Delta, San Francisco Bay, California Estimates of suspended sediment entering San Francisco Bay from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Delta, San Francisco Bay, California

This study demonstrates the use of suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) data collected at Mallard Island as a means of determining suspended-sediment load entering San Francisco Bay from the Sacramento and San Joaquin River watersheds. Optical backscatter (OBS) data were collected every 15 min during water years (WYs) 1995-2003 and converted to SSC. Daily fluvial advective sediment...
Authors
L.J. McKee, N. K. Ganju, D. H. Schoellhamer

Mapping South San Francisco Bay's seabed diversity for use in wetland restoration planning Mapping South San Francisco Bay's seabed diversity for use in wetland restoration planning

In an effort to understand the role of sediment of South San Francisco Bay (South Bay) salt ponds, an acoustic seabed classification was performed with the condition of over two hundred sediment samples. The success of the large-scale tidal wetland restoration of up to 15,000 acres of South Bay partly depends on the ability of the converted ponds to acquire and retain enough sediment to...
Authors
Theresa A. Fregoso, B. Jaffe, G. Rathwell, W. Collins, K. Rhynas, V. Tomlin, S. Sullivan
Was this page helpful?