(Not quite) Everything you wanted to know about freshwater flows into San Francisco Bay, but were afraid to ask

I will discuss current (and past) observations and thinking about how freshwater flow affects the San Francisco Bay/Delta system. In the talk, I will focus on three aspects of the hydrodynamics connected to flow that may be important to ecosystem function:
(1) Strong horizontal dispersion in the Delta associated with the interaction of tides and the complex channel network of the Delta.
(2) The effect of flow on the salinity structure in Northern San Francisco Bay, notably the dependence of the regulatory length scale X2 on flow.
(3) The dynamics of temperature variability in the Delta, with a focus on the San Joaquin River.

My presentation of these issues also include some (albeit limited) discussion of the effects of these physical processes on biota such as the endangered Delta Smelt. Finally, I will finish by looking at how flow into San Francisco Bay is measured, something that is challenging when flows are low as in the current drought.

Speaker: Stephen Monismith, Stanford

Room 111