Geology topics

Tara L. Morgan

Publications and source records attributed to Tara L. Morgan.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2014

Summary of suspended-sediment concentration data, San Francisco Bay, California, water year 2010

Suspended-sediment concentration data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in San Francisco Bay during water year 2010 (October 1, 2009–September 30, 2010). Turbidity sensors and water samples were used to monitor suspended-sediment concentration at two sites in Suisun Bay, one site in San Pablo Bay, three sites in Central San Francisco Bay, and one site in South San Francisco Bay. Sensors were positioned at two depths at most sites to help define the vertical variability of suspended sediments. Water samples were collected periodically and analyzed for concentrations of suspended sediment. The results of the analyses were used to calibrate the output of the turbidity sensors so that a record of suspended-sediment concentrations could be computed. This report presents the data-collection methods used and summarizes, in graphs, the suspended-sediment concentration data collected from October 2009 through September 2010. Calibration curves and plots of the processed data for each sensor also are presented.

California↗

USGS2012

Summary of suspended-sediment concentration data, San Francisco Bay, California, water year 2009

Suspended-sediment concentration data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in San Francisco Bay during water year 2009 (October 1, 2008–September 30, 2009). Optical sensors and water samples were used to monitor suspended-sediment concentration at two sites in Suisun Bay, one site in San Pablo Bay, two sites in Central San Francisco Bay, and one site in South San Francisco Bay. Sensors were positioned at two depths at most sites to help define the vertical variability of suspended sediments. Water samples were collected periodically and analyzed for concentrations of suspended sediment. The results of the analyses were used to calibrate the output of the optical sensors so that a record of suspended-sediment concentrations could be derived. This report presents the data-collection methods used and summarizes, in graphs, the suspended-sediment concentration data collected from October 2008 through September 2009. Calibration curves and plots of the processed data for each sensor also are presented.

California↗

USGS2011

Projected evolution of California's San Francisco Bay-Delta-River System in a century of continuing climate change

Background Accumulating evidence shows that the planet is warming as a response to human emissions of greenhouse gases. Strategies of adaptation to climate change will require quantitative projections of how altered regional patterns of temperature, precipitation and sea level could cascade to provoke local impacts such as modified water supplies, increasing risks of coastal flooding, and growing challenges to sustainability of native species. Methodology/Principal Findings We linked a series of models to investigate responses of California's San Francisco Estuary-Watershed (SFEW) system to two contrasting scenarios of climate change. Model outputs for scenarios of fast and moderate warming are presented as 2010–2099 projections of nine indicators of changing climate, hydrology and habitat quality. Trends of these indicators measure rates of: increasing air and water temperatures, salinity and sea level; decreasing precipitation, runoff, snowmelt contribution to runoff, and suspended sediment concentrations; and increasing frequency of extreme environmental conditions such as water temperatures and sea level beyond the ranges of historical observations. Conclusions/Significance Most of these environmental indicators change substantially over the 21 st century, and many would present challenges to natural and managed systems. Adaptations to these changes will require flexible planning to cope with growing risks to humans and the challenges of meeting demands for fresh water and sustaining native biota. Programs of ecosystem rehabilitation and biodiversity conservation in coastal landscapes will be most likely to meet their objectives if they are designed from considerations that include: (1) an integrated perspective that river-estuary systems are influenced by effects of climate change operating on both watersheds and oceans; (2) varying sensitivity among environmental indicators to the uncertainty of future climates; (3) inevitability of biological community changes as responses to cumulative effects of climate change and other drivers of habitat transformations; and (4) anticipation and adaptation to the growing probability of ecosystem regime shifts.

California↗

USGS2011

Summary of suspended-sediment concentration data, San Francisco Bay, California, water year 2008

Suspended-sediment concentration data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in San Francisco Bay during water year 2008 (October 1, 2007–September 30, 2008). Optical sensors and water samples were used to monitor suspended-sediment concentration at two sites in Suisun Bay, two sites in Central San Francisco Bay, and one site in South San Francisco Bay. Sensors were positioned at two depths at most sites to help define the vertical variability of suspended sediments. Water samples were collected periodically and analyzed for concentrations of suspended sediment. The results of the analyses were used to calibrate the output of the optical sensors so that a record of suspended-sediment concentrations could be derived. This report presents the data-collection methods used and summarizes, in graphs, the suspended-sediment concentration data collected from October 2007 through September 2008. Calibration curves and plots of the processed data for each sensor also are presented.

California↗

USGS2010

Summary of Suspended-Sediment Concentration Data, San Francisco Bay, California, Water Year 2007

Suspended-sediment concentration data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in San Francisco Bay during water year 2007 (October 1, 2006-September 30, 2007). Optical sensors and water samples were used to monitor suspended-sediment concentration at two sites in Suisun Bay, two sites in Central San Francisco Bay, and one site in South San Francisco Bay. Sensors were positioned at two depths at most sites to help define the vertical variability of suspended sediments.Water samples were collected periodically and analyzed for concentrations of suspended sediment. The results of the analyses were used to calibrate the output of the optical sensors so that a record of suspended-sediment concentrations could be derived. This report presents the data-collection methods used and summarizes, in graphs, the suspended-sediment concentration data collected from October 2006 through September 2007. Calibration curves and plots of the processed data for each sensor also are presented.

Data Series↗

USGS2008

Dissolved Oxygen in Guadalupe Slough and Pond A3W, South San Francisco Bay, California, August and September 2007

Initial restoration of former salt evaporation ponds under the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project in San Francisco Bay included the changing of water-flow patterns and the monitoring of water quality of discharge waters from the ponds. Low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations became evident in discharge waters when the ponds first were opened in 2004. This was a concern, because of the potential for low-DO pond discharge to decrease the DO concentrations in the sloughs that receive water from the ponds. However, as of summer 2007, only limited point-measurements of DO concentrations had been made in the receiving sloughs adjacent to the discharge ponds. In this report, we describe two short studies aimed at understanding the natural variability of slough DO and the effect of pond discharge on the DO concentrations in the sloughs. Pond A3W (a discharge pond) and the adjacent Guadalupe Slough were instrumented in August and September 2007 to measure DO, temperature, conductivity, and pH. In addition, Mowry and Newark Sloughs were instrumented during the August study to document DO variability in nearby sloughs that were unaffected by pond discharge. The results showed that natural tidal variability in the slough appeared to dominate and control the slough DO concentrations. Water-quality parameters between Guadalupe Slough and Mowry and Newark Sloughs could not be directly compared because deployment locations were different distances from the bay. Pond-discharge water was identified in Guadalupe Slough using the deployed instruments, but, counter to the previous assumption, the pond discharge, at times, increased DO concentrations in the slough. The effects of altering the volume of pond discharge were overwhelmed by natural spring-neap tidal variability in the slough. This work represents a preliminary investigation by the U.S. Geological Survey of the effects of pond discharge on adjacent sloughs, and the results will be used in designing a comprehensive DO study to determine normal variability for this region.

Open-File Report↗