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Recent scientific contributions by the U.S. Geological Survey in the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta Estuary

Introduction The San Francisco Bay and Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta Estuary (hereafter, Bay-Delta) is the largest estuary on the West Coast of the United States. The Bay-Delta covers more than 1,600 square miles and drains a watershed of more than 75,000 square miles, which is greater than 40 percent of California. The region surrounding the Bay-Delta is home to about 10 million people, and its habitats (fig. 1) support more than 800 plant and animal species. The waterways of the Bay-Delta are the central hub of California’s extensive freshwater delivery system, supplying water to more than 27 million Californians and 4 million acres of farmland in the Central Valley. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the primary science agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, providing a broad range of Earth, water, biological, and mapping data and expertise to inform natural resource management across the country. This fact sheet focuses on research conducted by the USGS in the Bay-Delta region, mostly within the past 5 years. The fact sheet is organized across five major themes: water flow and water quality, fish and wildlife, wetland restoration, invasive species, and hazards. In each of these areas, the USGS works closely with Federal, State, and local agencies; academia; and non-governmental organizations to provide objective, evidence-based science. The data and knowledge gained from USGS research and monitoring are publicly available and are routinely used by agencies, including the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Water Resources, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California State Water Resources Control Board, Delta Stewardship Council, and many additional organizations and stakeholders to inform management of the Bay-Delta region and its resources.

California↗

Reduced recruitment of Chinook salmon in a leveed bar-built estuary

Estuaries are commonly touted as nurseries for salmonids, providing numerous advantages for smolts prior to ocean entry. In bar-built estuaries, sandbars form at the mouth of rivers during periods of low stream flow, closing access to the ocean and preventing outmigration. We evaluated how summer residency in a leveed bar-built estuary affects the growth, survival, and recruitment of a Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) population. We performed a mark–recapture study on outmigrants to determine juvenile estuary abundance, growth, and survival. We used returning adult scales and otoliths to determine the relative proportion of summer estuary residents in spawning adults. Juveniles in the estuary grew less after mouth closure, and ultimately summer estuary residents had lower smolt-to-adult survival and contributed disproportionately less to the spawning population than juveniles that reared in the ocean their first summer. Mouth closure may lower food availability and deteriorate estuary conditions by reducing marine prey influx and estuary circulation. This research demonstrates the complexity of estuary dynamics and function as salmonid nurseries, particularly when considering the extensive modification of estuaries.

California↗

Diminishing productivity and hyperstable harvest in northern Wisconsin walleye fisheries

Managing fisheries in a changing socio-ecological environment may require holistic approaches for identifying and adapting to novel ecosystem dynamics. Using 32 years of Ceded Territory of Wisconsin (CTWI) walleye (Sander vitreus) data, we estimated production (P), biomass (B), biomass turnover (P/B), yield (Y), and yield over production (Y/P) and tested for hyperstability in walleye yield. Most CTWI walleye populations showed low P, and B, and Y/P < 1. Yet, production overharvest (Y/P > 1) was prevalent among Wisconsin walleye recruitment-based management approaches (natural recruitment [NR], sustained only by stocking, combination). Production, B, and P/B have declined in NR populations, while Y and Y/P have remained constant. Walleye Y was hyperstable along a production gradient among all management approaches and fishery types (i.e., angling only, angling/tribal harvest combined). Diminishing productivity and hyperstable yield may be jointly contributing to observed walleye declines. We classified lakes into management groups of low, moderate, or high vulnerability to harvest based on Y/P and P/B dynamics and recommend that exploitation may need to decline to maintain or increase the adaptive capacity of CTWI walleye.

Wisconsin↗

Effects of flow diversions on water and habitat quality: Examples from California's highly manipulated Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta

We use selected monitoring data to illustrate how localized water diversions from seasonal barriers, gate operations, and export pumps alter water quality across the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (California). Dynamics of water-quality variability are complex because the Delta is a mixing zone of water from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, agricultural return water, and the San Francisco Estuary. Each source has distinct water-quality characteristics, and the contribution of each source varies in response to natural hydrologic variability and water diversions. We use simulations with a tidal hydrodynamic model to reveal how three diversion events, as case studies, influence water quality through their alteration of Delta-wide water circulation patterns and flushing time. Reduction of export pumping decreases the proportion of Sacramento- to San Joaquin-derived fresh water in the central Delta, leading to rapid increases in salinity. Delta Cross Channel gate operations control salinity in the western Delta and alter the freshwater source distribution in the central Delta. Removal of the head of Old River barrier, in autumn, increases the flushing time of the Stockton Ship Channel from days to weeks, contributing to a depletion of dissolved oxygen. Each shift in water quality has implications either for habitat quality or municipal drinking water, illustrating the importance of a systems view to anticipate the suite of changes induced by flow manipulations, and to minimize the conflicts inherent in allocations of scarce resources to meet multiple objectives.

California↗

Landsat International Cooperators and Global Archive Consolidation

Landsat missions have always been an important component of U.S. foreign policy, as well as science and technology policy. The Landsat program’s longstanding network of International Cooperators (ICs), which operates numerous International Ground Stations (IGS) around the world, embodies the United States’ policy of peaceful use of outer space and the worldwide dissemination of civil space technology for public benefit. Thus, the ICs provide an essential dimension to the Landsat mission. In 2010, the Landsat Global Archive Consolidation (LGAC) initiative began, with goals to consolidate the Landsat data archives of all IGSs, make the data more accessible to the global Landsat user community, and significantly increase the frequency of observations over a given area of interest to contribute to the understanding of a changing Earth.

Fact Sheet↗

EAARL topography-Colonial National Historical Park

These Lidar-derived topography maps were produced as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC) St. Petersburg, the National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring Program, Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Wallops Flight Facility. One objective of this research is to create techniques to survey coral reefs, barrier islands, and various nearshore coastal environments for the purposes of geomorphic change studies, habitat mapping, ecological monitoring, change detection, and event assessment. As part of this project, data from an innovative instrument under development at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, the NASA Experimental Airborne Advanced Research Lidar (EAARL) are being used. This sensor has the potential to make significant contributions in this realm for measuring subaerial and submarine topography wthin cross-environment surveys. High spectral resolution, water-column correction, and low costs were found to be key factors in providing accurate and affordable imagery to coastal resource managers.

Virginia↗

Increased benthic grazing: An alternative explanation for low phytoplankton biomass in northern San Francisco Bay during the 1976-1977 drought

Among the consequences of extremely low river flow into northern San Francisco Bay during a two-year drought were (1) a gradual increase in salinity, (2) an unusual decline in chlorophyll a concentration, and (3) the upstream migration of estuarine benthic invertebrates to the normally brackish area of the bay. Total abundance in the benthos at a shallow monitoring site increased from a normal 2000 to greater than 20 000 individuals m −2 during the summer of 1977, presumably in response to the increased salinity. Estimated filtration rates derived from equations in the literature for one of the species, the suspended-feeding bivalve Mya arenaria ranged from 1 to 4 m 3 m −2 day −1 during 1977 depending on abundance and mean size on sampling dates. Because water depth at this site is less than 2 m, Mya could have filtered all of the particles (including diatoms) from the water column on the order of once per day. Several other immigrant species undoubtedly contributed to the removal of particles from the near-bottom water as well. Increased benthic grazing, therefore, could have accounted for the anomalously low phytoplankton biomass observed during the drought. These results suggest that during periods of prolonged low river flow and increased salinity benthic food webs could become more important than planktonic food webs in the upper part of the estuary.

California↗

Limited contribution of ancient methane to surface waters of the U.S. Beaufort Sea shelf

In response to warming climate, methane can be released to Arctic Ocean sediment and waters from thawing subsea permafrost and decomposing methane hydrates. However, it is unknown whether methane derived from this sediment storehouse of frozen ancient carbon reaches the atmosphere. We quantified the fraction of methane derived from ancient sources in shelf waters of the U.S. Beaufort Sea, a region that has both permafrost and methane hydrates and is experiencing significant warming. Although the radiocarbon-methane analyses indicate that ancient carbon is being mobilized and emitted as methane into shelf bottom waters, surprisingly, we find that methane in surface waters is principally derived from modern-aged carbon. We report that at and beyond approximately the 30-m isobath, ancient sources that dominate in deep waters contribute, at most, 10 ± 3% of the surface water methane. These results suggest that even if there is a heightened liberation of ancient carbon–sourced methane as climate change proceeds, oceanic oxidation and dispersion processes can strongly limit its emission to the atmosphere.

Science Advances↗

Earthquake shaking and damage to buildings

Ground shaking close to the causative fault of an earthquake is more intense than it was previously believed to be. This raises the possibility that large numbers of buildings and other structures are not sufficiently resistant for the intense levels of shaking that can occur close to the fault. Many structures were built before earthquake codes were adopted; others were built according to codes formulated when less was known about the intensity of near-fault shaking. Although many building types are more resistant than conventional design analyses imply, the margin of safety is difficult to quantify. Many modern structures, such as freeways, have not been subjected to and tested by near-fault shaking in major earthquakes (magnitude 7 or greater). Damage patterns in recent moderate-sized earthquakes occurring in or adjacent to urbanized areas, however, indicate that many structures, including some modern ones designed to meet earthquake code requirements, cannot withstand the severe shaking that can occur close to a fault. It is necessary to review the ground motion assumed and the methods utilized in the design of important existing structures and, if necessary, to strengthen or modify the use of structures that are found to be weak. New structures situated close to active faults should be designed on the basis of ground motion estimates greater than those used in the past. The ultimate balance between risk of earthquake losses and cost for both remedial strengthening and improved earthquake-resistant construction must be decided by the public. Scientists and engineers must inform the public about earthquake shaking and its effect on structures. The exposure to damage from seismic shaking is steadily increasing because of continuing urbanization and the increasing complexity of lifeline systems, such as power, water, transportation, and communication systems. In the near future we should expect additional painful examples of the damage potential of moderate-sized earthquakes in urban areas. Over a longer time span, however, we can significantly reduce the risk to life and property from seismic shaking through better land utilization, improved building codes and construction practices, and at least the gradual replacement of poor buildings by more resistant buildings. Progress toward reducing risk from seismic shaking through better building design is slowed by deficiencies in our knowledge about the nature of damaging ground motion and the failure mechanisms in structures. For example, lacking observational data, seismologists must rely on simplified theoretical and numerical models of the earthquake process to estimate near-fault ground motion, especially for earthquakes as large as magnitude 7 and 8. Because such models have not been adequately tested against data, their reliability is unknown. Engineers lack detailed information about failure processes in structures during an earthquake. Although many structures have been instrumented to measure their response to an earthquake, few records have been obtained from buildings that actually sustained significant structural damage and few structures are properly instrumented to measure all the modes of deformation that are likely to contribute to failure. Moreover, the fact that many structures have withstood ground motion more intense than that assumed in their design indicates that conventional methods of design do not take into account important contributions to earthquake resistance by nonstructural elements and by the ability of structural elements to deform inelastically without necessarily causing failure of the structure. It is fortunate when such reserve resistance exists, but better understanding of the sources of reserve strength is needed to determine how large a margin of safety they confer and how they might be affected by changes in construction practices and materials with time. In the next few years we look forward to significant advances in knowledge and to more effective application of what is already known, largely because of substantial funding of research related to seismic engineering by the National Science Foundation . The increasing number of strong-motion seismographs operating in seismically active regions will likely provide for the first time a number of records of damaging levels of ground motion. Significant effort is being directed toward obtaining near-fault records, although many probable sites of future large earthquakes remain inadequately instrumented, especially outside the conterminous United States. New and more complete information on building response and damage mechanisms will be obtained by improved instrumentation of structures and through laboratory investigations of failure in structures and structural elements. Further developments in computer technology and in computer modeling techniques will permit more realistic simulations of the seismic response of soils and structures that take into account their inelastic behavior and their strain-dependent properties. Earthquake design codes will continually be revised to better utilize existing knowledge concerning the nature of strong ground motion and the dynamic behavior of buildings during earthquakes and to incorporate new knowledge and also experiences gained from future earthquakes. We believe that application of new knowledge, improvements in earthquake-resistant design and construction, and remedial strengthening or replacement of weak existing structures can significantly reduce our current level of exposure to earthquake hazards.

Science↗

Disease in Central Valley salmon: Status and lessons from other systems

Chinook Salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) are increasingly vulnerable to anthropogenic activities and climate change, especially at their most southern species range in California’s Central Valley. There is considerable interest in understanding stressors that contribute to population decline and in identifying management actions that reduce the impacts of those stressors. Along the west coast of North America, disease has been linked to declining numbers of salmonids and identified as a key stressor resulting in mortality. In the Central Valley, targeted studies have revealed extremely high prevalence of infectious agents and disease. However, there has been insufficient monitoring to understand the effect that disease may have on salmon populations. In order to inform future research, monitoring, and management efforts, a two-day workshop on salmon disease was held at UC Davis on March 14-15, 2018. This paper summarizes the science presented at this workshop, including the current state of knowledge of salmonid disease in the Central Valley and current and emerging tools to better understand its impacts on salmon. We highlight case studies from other systems where successful monitoring programs have been implemented. First, in the Klamath River where the integration of several data collection and modeling approaches led to the development of successful management actions, and second in British Columbia where investment in researching novel technologies led to breakthroughs in the understanding of salmon disease dynamics. Finally, we identify key information and knowledge gaps necessary to guide research and management of disease in Central Valley salmon populations.

California↗

Collapsing avian community on a Hawaiian island

The viability of many species has been jeopardized by numerous negative factors over the centuries, but climate change is predicted to accelerate and increase the pressure of many of these threats, leading to extinctions. The Hawaiian honeycreepers, famous for their spectacular adaptive radiation, are predicted to experience negative responses to climate change, given their susceptibility to introduced disease, the strong linkage of disease distribution to climatic conditions, and their current distribution. We document the rapid collapse of the native avifauna on the island of Kaua‘i that corresponds to changes in climate and disease prevalence. Although multiple factors may be pressuring the community, we suggest that a tipping point has been crossed in which temperatures in forest habitats at high elevations have reached a threshold that facilitates the development of avian malaria and its vector throughout these species’ ranges. Continued incursion of invasive weeds and non-native avian competitors may be facilitated by climate change and could also contribute to declines. If current rates of decline continue, we predict multiple extinctions in the coming decades. Kaua‘i represents an early warning for the forest bird communities on the Maui and Hawai‘i islands, as well as other species around the world that are trapped within a climatic space that is rapidly disappearing.

Science Advances↗

Simulating Arctic climate warmth and icefield retreat in the last interglaciation

In the future, Arctic warming and the melting of polar glaciers will be considerable, but the magnitude of both is uncertain. We used a global climate model, a dynamic ice sheet model, and paleoclimatic data to evaluate Northern Hemisphere high-latitude warming and its impact on Arctic icefields during the Last Interglaciation. Our simulated climate matches paleoclimatic observations of past warming, and the combination of physically based climate and ice-sheet modeling with ice-core constraints indicate that the Greenland Ice Sheet and other circum-Arctic ice fields likely contributed 2.2 to 3.4 meters of sea-level rise during the Last Interglaciation.

Science↗

Land-based nutrient flux to a fringing reef: Insights from Ofu Island, American Samoa

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is a critical driver of nutrient transport in coral reef ecosystems, shaping water quality, primary productivity, and overall reef health. This study quantifies SGD fluxes and associated nutrient dynamics in two reef flat pools within the Ofu Unit of the National Park of American Samoa: Papaloloa and Fatuana. A multi-method approach integrating unoccupied aerial system-based thermal infrared (UAS-TIR) surveys, radon-based SGD measurements, multichannel electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), and discrete water sampling was used to assess SGD rates and nutrient contributions. UAS-TIR imagery revealed cooler sea surface temperatures in both pools, indicative of SGD, with the higher fluxes observed in Papaloloa. Radon measurements revealed a strong inverse correlation between SGD rates and tidal stage, with a more immediate SGD response at Papaloloa due to its highly permeable calcareous sand and gravel substrate. In contrast, a 2–3-hour lag in SGD response at Fatuana suggests discharge from a more inland aquifer that has lower diffusivity. Nutrient concentrations correlated with temperature and salinity, confirming SGD as the dominant nutrient transport mechanism, whereas isotopic analyses indicated inputs from both groundwater and potential anthropogenic sources. Despite lower SGD flux at Fatuana, higher algal cover suggests additional factors influencing algal proliferation, including substrate availability and hydrodynamic conditions. Excess nutrient inputs from SGD may contribute to algal overgrowth, which threatens Ofu’s thermally tolerant corals by increasing competition for space and light. These findings underscore the complexity of SGD-mediated nutrient dynamics in reef environments and emphasize the need for integrated hydrological and ecological assessments to support effective reef conservation and management strategies.

American Samoa, Ofu Island, Olosega Island↗

An introduced and a native vertebrate hybridize to form a genetic bridge to a second native species

The genetic impacts of hybridization between native and introduced species are of considerable conservation concern, while the possibility of reticulate evolution affects our basic understanding of how species arise and shapes how we use genetic data to understand evolutionary diversification. By using mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) sequences and 467 amplified fragment-length polymorphism nuclear DNA markers, we show that the introduced white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) has hybridized with two species native to the Colorado River Basin - the flannelmouth sucker (Catostomus latipinnis) and the bluehead sucker (Catostomus discobolus). Hybrids between the flannelmouth sucker and white sucker have facilitated introgression between the two native species, previously isolated by reproductive barriers, such that individuals exist with contributions from all three genomes. Most hybrids had the mitochondrial haplotype of the introduced white sucker, emphasizing its pivotal role in this three-way hybridization. Our findings highlight how introduced species can threaten the genetic integrity of not only one species but also multiple previously reproductively isolated species. Furthermore, this complex three-way reticulate (as opposed to strictly bifurcating) evolution suggests that seeking examples in other vertebrate systems might be productive. Although the present study involved an introduced species, similar patterns of hybridization could result from natural processes, including stream capture or geological formations (e.g., the Bering land bridge). ?? 2008 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of↗

Adaptation and response in drylands: A dryland research agenda and campaign strategy

Dryland ecosystems cover 41% of Earth's land surfaces, account for 44% of cultivated lands and 60% of food sources, and make large contributions to the global water and carbon cycles. However, these ecosystems are experiencing unprecedented extremes including heatwaves, floods, and droughts as well as hotter temperatures and often declining water resource availability. These ecosystems are some of the most challenging to monitor given their high temporal variability with rapid response to their environment as well as vast spatial variability with intermixing of different plant species and life forms amongst bare soil coverage. The Adaptation and Response in Drylands (ARID) campaign was selected by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a scoping study to develop a research agenda for a dryland field campaign. Here, we detail our ARID science research agenda and implementation plan that were developed based on an extensive community engagement effort in over 160 events with over a thousand scientists, land managers, and Tribal communities between 2023 and 2024. The selected science themes cover drought and climate variability, ecosystem structure, function, and biodiversity, carbon cycle interannual variability and trends, and social ecological systems (land management and adaptation). We then detail our remote sensing, modeling, and field-based strategies to capture high temporal and high spatial resolution processes. Finally, our implementation strategy is presented which includes focus area selections in a core intensive western U.S. domain and distributed international domains. This strategy includes our overarching guiding principles of using multi-temporal airborne acquisitions and super sites as well as enhancing land management in co-development with end-user partners. While originally developed for NASA, our ARID report creates a blueprint for any future dryland field campaign, at any scale, that can be implemented widely for foundational and applied science objectives.

Global Change Biology↗

Emerging investigator series: Atmospheric cycling of indium in the northeastern United States

Indium is critical to the global economy and is used in an increasing number of electronics and new energy technologies. However, little is known about its environmental behavior or impacts, including its concentrations or cycling in the atmosphere. This study determined indium concentrations in air particulate matter at five locations across the northeastern United States over the course of one year, in 1995. Historical records from a Massachusetts bog core showed that indium atmospheric concentrations in this region changed only modestly between 1995 and 2010. Atmospheric indium concentrations varied significantly both geographically and temporally, with average concentrations in PM 3 of 2.1 ± 1.6 pg m −3 (1 standard deviation), and average particle-normalized concentrations of 0.2 ± 0.2 μg In per g PM 3 . Peaks in the particle-normalized concentrations in two New York sites were correlated with wind direction; air coming from the north contributed higher concentrations of indium than air coming from the west. This correlation, along with measurements of indium in zinc smelter emissions and coal fly ash, suggests that indium in the atmosphere in the northeastern United States comes from a relatively constant low-level input from coal combustion in the midwest, and higher but more sporadic contributions from the smelting of lead, zinc, copper, tin, and nickel north of the New York sample sites. Understanding the industrial sources of indium to the atmosphere and how they compare with natural sources can lead to a better understanding of the impact of human activities on the indium cycle, and may help to establish a baseline for monitoring future impacts as indium use grows.

Massachusetts, New York↗

Regulating continent growth and composition by chemical weathering

Continents ride high above the ocean floor because they are underlain by thick, low-density, Si-rich, and Mg-poor crust. However, the parental magmas of continents were basaltic, which means they must have lost Mg relative to Si during their maturation into continents. Igneous differentiation followed by lower crustal delamination and chemical weathering followed by subduction recycling are possible solutions, but the relative magnitudes of each process have never been quantitatively constrained because of the lack of appropriate data. Here, we show that the relative contributions of these processes can be obtained by simultaneous examination of Mg and Li (an analog for Mg) on the regional and global scales in arcs, delaminated lower crust, and river waters. At least 20% of Mg is lost from continents by weathering, which translates into >20% of continental mass lost by weathering (40% by delamination). Chemical weathering leaves behind a more Si-rich and Mg-poor crust, which is less dense and hence decreases the probability of crustal recycling by subduction. Net continental growth is thus modulated by chemical weathering and likely influenced by secular changes in weathering mechanisms. ?? 2008 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of↗

Phylogeny and foraging mode correspond with thiaminase activity in freshwater fishes: Potential links to environmental factors

Knowledge of the dietary components of fish species is important for understanding their growth, survival, and recruitment. Deficiency in thiamine (vitamin B1) leading to reproductive failure and physiological illness among freshwater fishes has been attributed to thiaminase activity in fish in the Great Lakes and the New York Finger Lakes, but the causes of variation in thiaminase activity among freshwater fishes is unclear. We characterized thiaminase activity in 29 species of freshwater fishes across 7 ray-finned and 1 jawless family. All fish were further categorized by phylogeny, trophic category (trophic level and feeding mode), and native or non-native status to evaluate how ecological processes correspond with thiaminase activity. Thiaminase activity varied significantly across species, families, trophic factors, phylogenetic groups, and sites. Teleosts that were more recently derived had higher thiaminase activity than more basal species. Thiaminase activity was also higher among herbivores than omnivores or carnivores. This trend was clearest in the Cyprinidae family, which had the greatest range in thiaminase activity and a wide range in trophic-level position and trophic categories (herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores). Variation in average thiaminase activity of Spotfin Shiners (Cyprinella spiloptera) among sites within a watershed was correlated with anthropogenic and natural components of land cover. Our study contributes much-needed quantitative ecological information related to thiaminase activity in a suite of fish species that vary in evolutionary history, trophic level, and foraging modes. However, more studies are needed to identify interacting causes of thiaminase variation and examine the implications of these findings on the overall health of aquatic populations and freshwater ecosystems.

Freshwater Science↗