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  4. Data Release 10.5066/P1XZFGCX

Hydrodynamic and sediment transport data from two salt marshes and adjacent shallows in Northern San Francisco Bay, California 2022-2023

By Samantha C. McGill, Jessica R. Lacy, Joanne C. T. Ferreira, Daniel J. Nowacki, Andrew W. Stevens, and Angela C. Tan

https://doi.org/10.5066/P1XZFGCX

Dates

Published: Aug. 6, 2024

Summary

The U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center collected hydrodynamic and sediment-transport data at shallow subtidal and intertidal sites in Corte Madera Bay and San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge (SPNWF) in San Francisco Bay, CA, as well as on the marsh plain of SPNWF marsh and in a tidal creek and on the marsh plain of Corte Madera Marsh, in 2022 and 2023. This data release includes hydrodynamic and sediment transport time-series data spanning April 2022 to August 2023, as well as sediment bed properties and water column suspended-sediment concentrations (SSC). Details on station location, instrumentation, and measured variables are included in each section. The data were collected to determine the relationship between SSC in the shallows and sediment deposition at two different marshes, during a range of tidal, wave, and hydrologic conditions. The goals of the project are to produce information useful for prioritizing marsh restoration sites, assessing restoration actions, and understanding mechanisms of sediment delivery to marshes. Data were collected as part of a collaborative study with the USGS Western Ecological Research Center. These data are intended for science researchers, students, policy makers, and the general public.

Environmental Data

  • CTD profiles from a tidal creek in Corte Madera Marsh, Northern San Francisco Bay, California, 2022-2023

    CTD profiles were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center to measure the physical characteristics of Corte Madera tidal creek over the course of a tidal cycle during one of the largest spring tides in both Winter and Summer. Conductivity, temperature, and pressure data were collected, as well as suspended-sediment concentration in the water column Each profile was collected from surface to bed. Profiles were collected on 4 days: August 8 and 9 of 2022 and January 19 and 20 of 2023. Data files are grouped by season (summer or winter). Users are advised to assess data quality carefully.

    Data Files

    NBM22CTDaprof-cal.nc - 302.8 KB

    NBM22CTDbprof-cal.nc - 321.2 KB

    Metadata Files

    CorteMadera_CTD_profile_metadata.xml - 15.9 KB

    CorteMadera_CTD_profile_metadata.txt - 15.3 KB

    Preview of dataset
    Image of kayaker moving the kayak into position where the CTD profile will be collected. The CTD is shown on the kayak, behind the kayaker.
  • Discharge measurements from transects of a tidal creek in Corte Madera Marsh, Northern San Francisco Bay, California, during 2022 and 2023.

    Corte Madera Marsh, located in northern San Francisco Bay, California, is experiencing shoreline erosion. Determining whether the eroded sediment is exported to the bay or imported via tidal channels and deposited on the marsh platform is critical to understanding the long-term response of the marsh to wave attack and sea-level rise. Quantifying water-column sediment flux helps to characterize the role of tidal channels in this process, and water discharge is a key component of sediment flux. Tidal creek discharge was measured repeatedly over diurnal tidal cycles in a tidal channel located in the central, Muzzi marsh region of Corte Madera marsh, California during the summer of 2022 and during the winter of 2023. These transect data were collected using a downward-looking Teledyne RDI RiverPro 1200-kilohertz acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) from a moving boat.

    Data Files

    NBM_discharge.zip - 49.1 MB

    Metadata Files

    NBM_discharge_metadata.xml - 18.5 KB

    NBM_discharge_metadata.txt - 17.9 KB

    Support Files

    ReadMe_NBM_Discharge-File-Explanation.txt - 3.6 KB

    Preview of dataset
    Image of discharge measurement being collected in a tidal creek within Corte Madera Marsh.
  • Properties of sediment collected from two marshes and adjacent shallows in Northern San Francisco Bay, California, 2022-2023

    Bed sediment samples were collected from the intertidal, and subtidal shallows of San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge and Corte Madera Bay near stations where instrumented platforms that were collecting hydrographic time-series were deployed. Sediment sediments were collected with push cores, either manually or by subsampling a Gomex box corer. Cores, which ranged in length from 5 to 18 centimeters (cm), were sectioned by depth. The top two sections from each core were 0.5 cm thick, the following sections were 1 cm thick, sections below 6 cm were often sectioned either into sections that were 1 or 2 cm thick. Additional samples were taken from sediment deposited on ceramic tiles attached to the marsh surface. Samples were analyzed for sediment properties including bulk density, particle size distribution, loss on ignition, and percent carbon.

    Data Files

    NBM22_sediment_data.csv - 293.7 KB

    Metadata Files

    NBM22_sediment_metadata.xml - 81.1 KB

    NBM22_sediment_metadata.txt - 79.4 KB

    Preview of dataset
    A collage of three photos, the first from the left shows a worker collecting a shipside push core, the middle photo shows the shipside push core being recovered by workers, the image on the right show
  • Suspended sediment concentrations from water samples collected from the shallows and a tidal creek of Northern San Francisco Bay, California, 2022-2023

    Water samples were collected in San Pablo Bay, Corte Madera Bay, and a tidal creek in Corte Madera Marsh between April 2022 and June 2023 to measure suspended-sediment concentrations and percent carbon of suspended sediment. The water samples were collected near the USGS instrument platforms (see time-series data page) with a peristaltic pump, via a Niskin sampler, or directly with a sample bottle.

Location-Elevation Data

  • Topographic data from two marshes and adjacent shallows in Northern San Francisco Bay, California, 2022-2023

    Topographic data were collected in the Corte Madera Marsh, San Pablo National Wildlife Refuge Marsh, and at the time-series stations in the shallows adjacent to each marsh in Northern San Francisco Bay between April 2022 and September 2023. The topographic data were acquired using global satellite navigation system receivers that were either mounted on backpacks and hiked over the marsh surface or mounted on a survey rod held shipside against a deployed platform or on the water surface. Sometimes an additional staff was used in conjunction with the shipside survey rod to reach the platform, which we refer to as an integrated collection method.

    Data Files

    CorteMadera_Marsh_Topo.csv - 87.6 KB

    SanPablo_Marsh_Topo.csv - 964.9 KB

    TimeSeriesSites_Topo.csv - 4.9 KB

    Metadata Files

    topo_metadata.xml - 22.0 KB

    topo_metadata.txt - 21.7 KB

    Preview of dataset
    Images of both Corte Madera Marsh and San Pablo Marsh being surveyed.

Time Series Data

  • Hydrodynamic time-series data from two marshes and adjacent shallows in Northern San Francisco Bay, California, 2022-2023

    Hydrodynamic and sediment transport time-series data, including water depth, velocity, turbidity, conductivity, and temperature, were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center at shallow subtidal and intertidal sites in Corte Madera Bay and San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge (SPNWF) in San Francisco Bay, CA, as well as on the marsh plain of SPNWF marsh and in a tidal creek and on the marsh plain of Corte Madera Marsh, in 2022 and 2023. Data files are grouped by station, San Pablo subtidal, San Pablo intertidal, San Pablo marsh, Corte Madera subtidal, Corte Madera intertidal, Corte Madera marsh, or Corte Madera tidal creek, then by instrument type. At most stations there were periods of low water when sensors were no longer submerged, resulting in spurious data. In addition, most instruments experienced some degree of biofouling, particularly at the subtidal and intertidal stations. The subtidal stations also occasionally show signs of platform rocking or movement due to strong water flow, and/or from accidental fisher/boater interference. Users are advised to assess data quality carefully, and to check the metadata for instrument information, as platform deployment times and data-processing methods varied.

    Preview of dataset
    Map showing the locations of each station where time-series data were collected.

Suggested Citation

McGill, S.C., Lacy, J.R., Ferreira, J.C.T., Nowacki, D.J., Stevens, A.W., and Tan, A.C., 2024, Hydrodynamic and sediment transport data from two marshes and adjacent shallows in Northern San Francisco Bay, California 2022-2023: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P1XZFGCX.

Overview Map