Jessie Lacy
My research interests include: Hydrodynamics of the coastal ocean, estuaries, and lakes; Lateral dynamics in estuaries with complex topography, and their influence on mixing; The dynamics of stratification and baroclinic transport; Estimation of bottom roughness, bottom shear stress, and sediment resuspension in wave-dominated environments; Interaction between aquatic vegetation and hydrodynamics
Biography
Links
- Turbid Bay: Sediment in Motion - Video of sediment transport research in the shallows of San Francisco Bay
- Making Waves and Ripples in a Giant Flume in Japan - USGS Sound Waves, April 2005
- Eelgrass in Puget Sound: A New Study of Flow, Sediment Transport, and Zostera marina - USGS Sound Waves, September 2004
- USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
- South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project
- Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Plan
- Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, Stanford University
Selected Publications
J.R. Lacy, S. Gladding, A. Brand, A. Collignon, and M.T. Stacey, 2014. Lateral baroclinic forcing enhances sediment transport from shallows to channel in an estuary. Estuaries and Coasts. doi:10.1007/s12237-013-9748-3.
MacVean, L. J., and J. R. Lacy, 2014. Interactions between waves, sediment, and turbulence on a shallow estuarine mudflat. Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans 119, 1534–1553, doi:10.1002/2013JC009477.
D. Buscombe, D.M. Rubin, J.R. Lacy, C.R. Sherwood, C.D. Storlazzi, G.Hatcher, H. Chezar, and R. Wyland. Seabed dynamics on the inner continental shelf: Insights from eighteen months of hourly grain size measurements. In review, Continental Shelf Research.
J.R. Lacy, D. M. Rubin, and D. Buscombe, 2012. Currents, drag, and sediment transport induced by a tsunami. Journal of Geophysical Research 117 (C09028). doi:10.1029/2012JC007954.
A.W. Stevens and J.R. Lacy, 2012. The influence of wave energy and sediment transport on seagrass distribution. Estuaries and Coasts 35, 92–108. doi:10.1007/s12237-011-9435-1.
J.R. Lacy and D.J. Hoover, 2011. Wave exposure of Corte Madera Marsh, Marin County, California: A field investigation. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011-1183. http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1183/.
J. Figurski, D. Malone, J.R. Lacy, and M. Denny, 2011. An inexpensive instrument for measuring wave exposure and water velocity. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods 9, 204–214. doi:10.4319/lom.2011.9.204.
Lacy, Jessica R. and Sandy Wyllie-Echeverria, 2011. The influence of current speed and vegetation density on flow structure in two macrotidal eelgrass canopies. Limnology and Oceanography: Fluids and Environments 1 (2011): 38–55.doi:<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/21573698-1152489">10.1215/21573698-1152489</a>
http://lofe.dukejournals.org/content/early/2011/02/17/21573698-1152489.full
A. Brand, J.R. Lacy, S. Gladding, D. Hoover, and M.T. Stacey. 2010. Wind-enhanced resuspension in the shallow waters of South San Francisco Bay: Mechanisms and potential implications for cohesive sediment transport. Journal of Geophysical Research 115 (C11024) doi:10.1029/2010JC006172.
A.W. Stevens, J.R. Lacy, D.P. Finlayson, and G. Gelfenbaum. 2008. Evaluation of a single-beam sonar system to map seagrass at two sites in northern Puget Sound, Washington. USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5009.
J.R. Lacy, D.M. Rubin, H. Ikeda, K. Mokodai, and D.M. Hanes. 2007. Bedforms created by simulated waves and currents in a large flume. Journal of Geophysical Research 112 (C10018). doi:10.1029/2006JC003942.
C.R. Sherwood, J.R. Lacy, and G. Voulgaris. 2006. Shear velocity estimates on the inner shelf off Grays Harbor, Washington, USA. Continental Shelf Research 26 (17-18): 1995-2018. doi:10.1016/j.csr.2006.07.025.
J.R. Lacy, C.R. Sherwood, D. Wilson, T. Chisholm, and G. Gelfenbaum. 2005. Estimating hydrodynamic roughness in a wave-dominated environment with a high resolution acoustic Doppler profiler. Journal of Geophysical Research 110 (C06014). doi:10.1029/2003JC001814.
J.R. Lacy and C.R. Sherwood. 2004. Accuracy of a pulse-coherent acoustic Doppler profiler in a wave-dominated flow. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 21 (9): 1448-1461.
J.R. Lacy, M.T. Stacey, J.R. Burau, and S.G. Monismith. 2003. The interaction of lateral baroclinic forcing and turbulence in an estuary. Journal of Geophysical Research 108 (C3), 3089. doi:10.1029/2002JC001392.
J.R. Lacy and S.G. Monismith. 2001. Secondary currents in a curved, stratified, estuarine channel. Journal of Geophysical Research 106 (C12): 31283-31302.
J.R. Lacy, M.T. Stacey, S.G. Monismith, and J.R. Burau. 1997. Stratification and turbulence over a tidal cycle in northern San Francisco Bay. In S.S.Y. Wang and T. Carstes, eds., Proceedings of the 27th IAHR Biennial Congress vol. 1, 1108-1113. New York: American Society of Civil Engineers.
J.R. Lacy, D.H. Schoellhamer, and J.R. Burau. 1996. Suspended-solids flux at a shallow-water site in South San Francisco Bay, California. In C.T. Bathala, ed., Proceedings of the North American Water and Environment Congress, June 23-28, 1996. New York: American Society of Civil Engineers.
Science and Products
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...
Ecosystem Engineers: Impacts of Invasive Aquatic Vegetation on the Delta’s Critical Ecosystems
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) is home to a diverse community of plants and animals and is the hub of California’s freshwater delivery system. The Delta supplies water for over 25 million Californians and supports millions of acres of farming, commercial and sport fishing, shipping and ports, and recreational boating.
Drag and sediment transport: conditions at the bottom boundary
This research is part of the project “Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments”
Seasonal, spring-neap, and tidal variation in cohesive sediment transport parameters in estuarine shallows
Numerical models for predicting sediment concentrations and transport rely on parameters such as settling velocity and bed erodibility that describe sediment characteristics, yet these parameters are rarely probed directly. We investigated temporal and spatial variation in sediment parameters in the shallows of San Pablo Bay, CA. Flow, turbulence...
Allen, Rachel; Lacy, Jessica R.; Mark T. Stacey; Variano, Evan A Measuring settling velocity in a strongly tidal estuary
Predicting sediment transport in estuarine systems requires understanding sediment settling velocity, its range of fluctuations, and the shortcomings of the tools to measure it. Previous studies have used Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometry (LISST) instruments to measure particle size and Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters (ADV) to return...
Allen, Rachel; Lacy, Jessica R.; Variano, Evan A Bed shear stress estimation under wave conditions using near-bottom measurements: Comparison of methods
Understanding the influence of waves on bed shear stress is critical for predicting morphodynamical behaviours in coastal areas. Near-bed flow was measured on the middle and lower intertidal mudflats along the Jiangsu coast, China, using a three-dimensional acoustic velocimeter that collected a 3.5-cm vertical profile at 1mm resolution and sample...
Zhang, Qian; Gong, Zheng; Zhang, Changkuan; Lacy, Jessica R.; Jaffe, Bruce E.; Xu, Beibei The influence of neap-spring tidal variation and wave energy on sediment flux in salt marsh tidal creeks
Sediment flux in marsh tidal creeks is commonly used to gage sediment supply to marshes. We conducted a field investigation of temporal variability in sediment flux in tidal creeks in the accreting tidal marsh at China Camp State Park adjacent to northern San Francisco Bay. Suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), velocity, and depth were...
Lacy, Jessica R.; Ferner, Matthew C.; Callaway, John C. Three-dimensional modeling of fine sediment transport by waves and currents in a shallow estuary
A suspended sediment transport model is implemented in the unstructured‐grid SUNTANS model and applied to study fine‐grained sediment transport in South San Francisco Bay. The model enables calculation of suspension of bottom sediment based on combined forcing of tidal currents and wind waves. We show that accurate results can be obtained by...
Chou, Yi-Ju; Nelson, Kurt S.; Holleman, Rusty C.; Fringer, Oliver B.; Stacey, Mark T.; Lacy, Jessica R.; Monismith, Stephen G.; Koseff, Jeffrey R. Wave attenuation across a tidal marsh in San Francisco Bay
Wave attenuation is a central process in the mechanics of a healthy salt marsh. Understanding how wave attenuation varies with vegetation and hydrodynamic conditions informs models of other marsh processes that are a function of wave energy (e.g. sediment transport) and allows for the incorporation of marshes into coastal protection plans. Here,...
Foster-Martinez, Madeline R.; Lacy, Jessica R.; Ferner, Matthew C.; Variano, Evan A.