Aquatic Stressors
Aquatic Stressors
Stressors are anything that is detrimental to a species’ health. Monitoring stations collect data on aquatic constituents such as temperature, salinity, pesticides, excess nutrients (such as nitrogen and phosphorus), and suspended sediments. Tracking sediments is important because many contaminants (including pesticides, trace metals, and excess nutrients) occur in the system and are bound to sediments. Research by USGS assists with understanding the origin, transport, and fate of potential stressors to reduce impacts to species and inform habitat-restoration activities.
Filter Total Items: 5
Suspended-Solids Concentrations in San Francisco Bay, California
Suspended solids are an important component of San Francisco Bay, California (USA) because they transport adsorbed toxic substances, provide habitat for benthic organisms, limit light availability and photosynthesis, and deposit in ports and waterways which require dredging. The U.S. Geological Survey has established a network of eight sites in San Francisco Bay at which suspended-solids...
Continuous Monitoring of Water Quality and Suspended-Sediment Transport in the San Francisco Bay and Delta
Our group at the USGS continuously monitors suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), turbidity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, and water level at many sites throughout the San Francisco Bay (Bay) and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers Delta (Delta). Our work began in 1988 to explore the spatial and temporal variability of water quality and sediment transport and to provide decision makers...
Variability of Salinity and Temperature In San Francisco Bay
The USGS has been collecting specific conductance (salinity) and water temperature data in San Francisco Bay (SF Bay) since 1990. Data are typically collected at 5-10 fixed locations throughout the bay, every fifteen minutes, every minute of the day.
High-Speed Mapping of Nutrient Distributions and Water Quality Survey - Lower South San Francisco Bay
This project aims to characterize spatial heterogeneity for key water quality parameters, and pilot the use of underway-flowthrough mapping of biogeochemical properties as a cost-effective approach to monitoring.
Aquatic Stressors
USGS water-quality monitoring in the Bay-Delta system provides information that can help identify potential “stressors” to species of concern.