Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

How is USGS helping managers understand and track water quality?

Watch Video

How does USGS science support Bay-Delta surface water management?

Watch Video

How is USGS working to understand natural hazards in the Delta?

Watch Video

San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary

The San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is one of the largest estuaries in the United States. It provides water to more than 25 million California residents, farmlands, and key fish and wildlife habitats. To help ensure the health of this crucial estuary, the U.S. Geological Survey provides science essential to address issues of importance to our partners and the public.

San Francisco Bay and Delta Overview Video

an Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary Overview Video Screenshot of geospatial area

Learn about the San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem, current management issues, and some of the monitoring and research the USGS is conducting in coordination with others.

Watch Video

USGS Science at Work

FPO Only Need metadata

This fact sheet provides an overview of USGS research in the San Francisco Bay-Delta region.

Read More

State of the Network

research boat on delta

Long-Term, High-Frequency Flow and Water Quality Data in the San Francisco Estuary, California

New article provides examples of the work being done to measure water flow and quality in the San Francisco Estuary.

Read the Article

News

link

Biofilm is on the Kids’ Menu, and Other Lessons from the Western Sandpipers of San Francisco Bay

link

Research Spotlight: Dabbling Ducks Prefer Managed Wetlands and Pond-Like Features in Suisun Marsh

link

Toxic Mineral Selenium Found in California Fish Species

View All

Publications

Influence of invasive submerged aquatic vegetation (E. densa) on currents and sediment transport in a freshwater tidal system

We present a field study combining measurements of vegetation density, vegetative drag, and reduction of suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) within patches of the invasive submerged aquatic plant Egeria densa. Our study was motivated by concern that sediment trapping by E. densa, which has proliferated in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, is impacting marsh accretion and reducing turbidity. In

By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, California Water Science Center, Mendenhall Research Fellowship Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Effects of tidally varying river flow on entrainment of juvenile salmon into Sutter and Steamboat Sloughs

Survival of juvenile salmonids in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Delta) varies by migration route, and thus the proportion of fish that use each route affects overall survival through the Delta. Understanding factors that drive routing at channel junctions along the Sacramento River is therefore critical to devising management strategies that maximize survival. Here, we examine entrainment of a
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Fisheries Program (unpublished), Species Management Research Program, California Water Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center, Columbia River Research Laboratory (CRRL)

2011 Georgiana Slough non-physical barrier performance evaluation project report

The Sacramento River and its tributaries support populations of anadromous fish species including winter-run, spring-run, fall-run, and late fall–run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha); and steelhead (O. mykiss). Several of these species are listed as threatened or endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA), federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), or both. These species spa
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fisheries Program (unpublished), Species Management Research Program, Western Fisheries Research Center, Columbia River Research Laboratory (CRRL)
View All

Science

link
View from the sky looking at mouth of river with lots of sediment deposited at a beach.

Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments

Our research goals are to provide the scientific information, knowledge, and tools required to ensure that decisions about land and resource use, management practices, and future development in the coastal zone and adjacent watersheds can be evaluated with a complete understanding of the probable effects on coastal ecosystems and communities, and a full assessment of their vulnerability to natural...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Sediment Lab Suite and Carbon Analysis Laboratory
link

Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments

Our research goals are to provide the scientific information, knowledge, and tools required to ensure that decisions about land and resource use, management practices, and future development in the coastal zone and adjacent watersheds can be evaluated with a complete understanding of the probable effects on coastal ecosystems and communities, and a full assessment of their vulnerability to natural...
Learn More
link
View from the air across a tidal march, mudflat, and channels with bay water to the right and a city in the background.

Sediment transport between estuarine habitats in San Francisco Bay

We investigate mechanisms of sediment transport, resuspension dynamics in shoals, wave evolution in the shallows, wave attenuation in marshes, and transport of sediment between mudflats and marshes. We produce data sets for calibration of and comparison with sediment transport models, including wave parameters, suspended sediment concentration, and sediment flux.
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

Sediment transport between estuarine habitats in San Francisco Bay

We investigate mechanisms of sediment transport, resuspension dynamics in shoals, wave evolution in the shallows, wave attenuation in marshes, and transport of sediment between mudflats and marshes. We produce data sets for calibration of and comparison with sediment transport models, including wave parameters, suspended sediment concentration, and sediment flux.
Learn More
link
Two people hold onto a large metal tripod with instruments suspended from a cable as they guide it into the water.

Drag and sediment transport: conditions at the bottom boundary

Research on bed sediment grain size, bedform morphology, vegetation characteristics, and sediment resuspension and transport.
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Sediment Lab Suite and Carbon Analysis Laboratory
link

Drag and sediment transport: conditions at the bottom boundary

Research on bed sediment grain size, bedform morphology, vegetation characteristics, and sediment resuspension and transport.
Learn More
View All