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Habitat Quality

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By San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary August 8, 2016

USGS is currently enhancing its existing water-quality monitoring network in the Bay-Delta with the establishment of “super stations” at strategic locations to collect data every 15 minutes (continuous monitoring) on a variety of water- and habitat-quality characteristics.

The Data these Stations collect include information on nutrients, phytoplankton (microscopic plants), light penetration, and dissolved organic material (such as that from plant remains). Such data are fundamental to characterizing the complex variance in food-web dynamics that influence the ecosystem and its capacity to support species. Because data are collected every 15 minutes, researchers can more easily identify the hydrologic and biogeochemical conditions of a habitat, differentiate between multiple interacting habitat-quality drivers, and identify short- and long-term variability in habitat quality. The data are also used to enhance predictive models for managing flows through the Delta ecosystem and to help resource managers respond to ecosystem changes more rapidly.

 

For more information see:

Assessment of Baseline Conditions in Liberty Cut

Effects of Aquatic Vegetation on Water Quality and Residence Time in the Bay-Delta

 

Back to San Francisco Bay-Delta Science

 

USGS is currently enhancing its existing water-quality monitoring network in the Bay-Delta with the establishment of “super stations” at strategic locations to collect data every 15 minutes (continuous monitoring) on a variety of water- and habitat-quality characteristics.

The Data these Stations collect include information on nutrients, phytoplankton (microscopic plants), light penetration, and dissolved organic material (such as that from plant remains). Such data are fundamental to characterizing the complex variance in food-web dynamics that influence the ecosystem and its capacity to support species. Because data are collected every 15 minutes, researchers can more easily identify the hydrologic and biogeochemical conditions of a habitat, differentiate between multiple interacting habitat-quality drivers, and identify short- and long-term variability in habitat quality. The data are also used to enhance predictive models for managing flows through the Delta ecosystem and to help resource managers respond to ecosystem changes more rapidly.

 

For more information see:

Assessment of Baseline Conditions in Liberty Cut

Effects of Aquatic Vegetation on Water Quality and Residence Time in the Bay-Delta

 

Back to San Francisco Bay-Delta Science

 

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