National Monitoring Network Pilots and Demonstration Areas:
San Francisco Bay region

The project encompasses the San Francisco estuary, the largest estuary on the west coast. The delta and the estuary are an important area of biological diversity and are a key transit point for migrating birds. The surrounding watersheds are highly urbanized; approximately 8 million people work and live around the San Francisco estuary.

Long-term, integrated, and multi-organizational studies conducted over 40 years in San Francisco Bay—known for the longest sustained program of research and observation in a U.S. coastal ecosystem—help resource managers and resource protection agencies understand the response of the Bay’s aquatic community to the combined effects of climate variability, urbanization, changes in the hydrologic system, and the introduction of nutrients, organic contaminants, and trace elements.

• Inland-to-sea assessment in San Francisco Bay -- Briefing Sheet and Powerpoint
• Key Partners
• Related Links:
• Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (USGS site)
• Continuous Sediment Monitoring in SF Bay (USGS site)
• San Francisco Estuary Institute
• Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System
• Pilot Study Report
• Pilot Proposal, 2006