The Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies

The Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies

Why is it Here ?

by Jim Kelley

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Why Do We Live in the Bay Area?

San Francisco BayMakes Life in the Bay Area

What It Is

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What Do You Think Of When You Hear

“San Francisco Bay?”

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A Famous Bridge?

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A Beautiful Landscape?

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Alcatraz?

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Fisherman’s Wharf?

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Silicon Valley?

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Big Boat Races?

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An Urbanized Estuary?

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EstuariesAre Places Where a River Meets the

Sea

This May Occur in a Bay, for example…

• San Francisco Bay• Chesapeake Bay• Bo Hai Gulf of the Yellow River• Thames River Estuary

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Bo Hai Gulf

Yellow River

ThamesEstuary

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EstuariesAre Places Where a River Meets

the Sea

Or It May Occur in a Fjord, for example…

• Oslofjord• Puget Sound• Cook Inlet

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Oslo

Oslofjord

AnchorageCook Inlet

Puget Sound

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EstuariesOf Course Deltas Are Also Places Where A River Meets the Sea, But In Deltas

the Fresh and Salt Water Mix Turbulently at the Delta Margin, so they Behave Differently from Estuaries.

Examples are:– Mississippi River (Historically)– Mekong Delta– The Netherlands (Rhine River Delta)

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1973 1989 2003

Erosion of the Mississippi Delta

Mekong River

NetherlandsRhine

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Estuaries• Are Important Nursery Grounds for the

Ocean• Are as Biologically Productive as Irrigated

Agriculture on a per square meter basis• Are Home to Most of the World’s Human

Population• The Sites of Most of the World’s Great

Cities• Are the Most Heavily Affected Parts of the

Ocean

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Cities on Estuaries• San Francisco• New York• London• Rangoon• Shanghai• Dhaka• Bombay• Vladivostok

• Buenos Aires• Montevideo• Rio de Janeiro• Washington D.C.• Ho Chi Min City• Tokyo• St. Petersburg• Bangkok

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Sylvia Mc Laughlin, FounderSave the Bay, 1961

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Often Estuaries are “Tidal”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Salt Water Wedge movesLandward on the Flood Tide And Seaward on the Ebb Tide

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At the Golden Gate this DailyFlow is 6 Times the Volume

Of the Mississippi River

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Before Oceanographers LookedAt the Bay, Engineers Assumed

That Since the Tidal Prism is1/3 of the Volume of the Bay,

The Bay Flushes Every Three Days

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Tidal Mixing Flushes theBay Every Three Days

Salt Water

Bay Water

Ocean Water

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

The Original Misconception

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If the Bay Flushes Every ThreeDays by Tidal Action, You Can

Divert as Much Water as You Like

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Estuaries are threatened by: 1. Water

Diversion2. Wetland Loss3. Invasive Species4. Pollution

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Estuaries are threatened by:1. Water Diversion

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In Estuaries• Fresh Water Flows Seaward,

Floating on the Salt Water• Salt Water is Entrained at the

Bottom of the Fresh Water Lens• The Fresh Water Lens Becomes

Saltier as it Moves Seaward• The Salt Water “Wedge” Flows

Landward, Against the Salinity Gradient

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Estuarine Circulation

Fresh Water

Salt Water

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Estuarine Circulation

Fresh Water

Salt Water

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Estuarine Circulation

Fresh Water

Salt Water

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Estuarine Circulation

Fresh Water

Salt Water

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Most of theEstuarine CirculationIs in the

North Bay(San Pablo Bay)

And the Central Bay

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The Salt Water Wedge is notFlowing “Uphill”

It is Flowing Across a Salinity GradientAnd thus is Flowing “Downhill”

From Higher Salinity to Lower Salinity

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San Francisco BayIs Fed by the

Sacramento andSan Joaquin Rivers~~~~~~~~~~~

Together theDrain 43% of

The Land Area ofCalifornia

SacramentoValley

San JoaquinValley

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Most of the WaterFirst Falls asSnow in the

Sierra NevadaAnd the

Siskiyou Mountains

Siskiyous

Sierra Nevada

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Most of the WaterFirst Falls asSnow in the

Sierra NevadaAnd the

Siskiyou MountainsSierra Nevada

SiskiyouMountain

s

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Annual Mean Total Precipitation

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So, in California,The Water is in the North (Green), butThe People are in the South (Brown)

~~~~~This Makes

California Politics even more

Interesting theThey would be

Otherwise

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So, in California,The Water is in the North (Green), butThe People are in the South (Brown)

~~~~~This Makes

California Politics even more

Interesting theThey would be

Otherwise

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Actually, Only 15 %Of the Water

Diverted FromSan Francisco Bay

Goes to Los Angeles~~~~~~~~

85 % Is Used By Central Valley

Agriculture

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1960 1970 1980 1990 2000Water Year

Inflow

80

60

40

20

0Inflo

w a

nd O

utflo

w (

km3 /y

ear)

Outflow

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Expo

rt F

low

(km

3 /yea

r)8

6

4

2

01960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Water Year

Percent Flow Diverted

60

40

%

20

0

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Estuaries are threatened by:1. Water Diversion2. Wetland Loss

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San FranciscoBay HasLost 95%

Of ItsNatural

WetlandsIn the Past160 Years

Wetlands in 1848Wetlands Today

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Wetlands in 1848 Wetlands Today

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Hydraulic Mining in the Sierra Raised the Seabed Of San Francisco Bay 1 Meter Before it was Stopped in 1884

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Grove Karl GilbertStudied the EffectsOf Hydraulic Mining

On The Bay and Delta

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The California Academy of SciencesWas Founded in 1853 by 7 Men Concerned

About the Effects of Hydraulic Mining

Andrew Randall

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Estuaries are threatened by:1. Water Diversion2. Wetland Loss3. Invasive Species

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Invasive Species…

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Often Out-compete Native Species

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If Native Species Evolve Without Competition…

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Invasive Species Can Easily Take Over

Gaspar de Portolá Marching on Monterey

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Usually the NativeSpecies Suffer

DeclinesIn Numbers and Diversity

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In EstuariesInvasive, or Exotic,

SpeciesTypically Come In

As Larvae in the Ballast Water Of Ships

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Although Sometimes Pets Escape, As Do Animals From Live Fish

Markets

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The Chinese Mitten Crab

First discoveredIn San Francisco Bay

in 1992However it had beenSeen in fish markets

In the 1980’s

A native ofThe Yellow Sea

For Example…

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Mitten Crabs Simply Eat Many of The Native

Species of the Bay

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Tiny Asiatic Clams, However, Filter All theAvailable Food and Starve Native Species

1 cm

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Spartina alterniflora is an invasive cordgrassFrom the East Coast

Just Crowds Natives Out

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Invasive organisms account for between 40 percent and 100 percent of the common species, up to 97 percent

of the total number of organisms, and up to 99 percent of the biomass.

250

200

150

100

50

01850 1870 1890 1910 1930 1950 1970 1990

Cumulative Number of Invasive Species

Num

ber

of S

peci

es

Year

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Not only is the number of invasive species increasing, so too is the rate of invasion. From 1851 to 1960,

the average rate of invasion of the bay was one new species every 55 weeks; from 1961 to 1995 the average rate

increased to one new species every 14 weeks.

250

200

150

100

50

01850 1870 1890 1910 1930 1950 1970 1990

Cumulative Number of Invasive Species

Num

ber

of S

peci

es

Year

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Estuaries are threatened by:1. Water Diversion2. Wetland Loss3. Invasive Species4. Pollution

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1850

1900

1940

1990

Urban Areas

Tidal Wetlands

Major Earthquakes

Pollution is Roughly

Proportional to Population

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In Summary: Estuaries• Are Important Nursery Grounds for the

Ocean• Are as Biologically Productive as Irrigated

Agriculture on a per share meter basis• Are Home to Most of the World’s Human

Population• The Sites of Most of the World’s Great

Cities• Are the Most Heavily Affected Parts of the

Ocean

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Estuaries are threatened by:Ignorance

1. Accidental2. Planned

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John Reber

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So Who Cares About Estuaries?

Almost Everybody!

Although Sometimes They Don’t Know It

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At the Romberg Tiburon Center,Scientists Address All of these Threats

to the Health of San Francisco Bay

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How Did This Happen?

In 1975, 36 Acres of the Naval Net Depot Property was Declared Surplus by GSA

In 1978, The Property Was Transferred to the CSU

In 1976, SFSU Received Permission to Begin Development of a Center for Environmental Studies on the Site

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The Three Leading Proposals for the Future of the Site Were:

SFSU’s Center Proposal

American Youth Hostel’s Proposal for a Hostel on Paradise Drive

Marin County’s Proposal for a Boat Park

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In 1984, The Center WasNamed in Honor of

Paul F. Romberg WhoHad Led the Effort to

Acquire the Property andBuild the Center

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The Center Has Been Led by a SuccessionOf Dedicated and Talented Directors:

Erwin Seibel: 1978-1980Curt Davis: 1980-1982Mike Josselyn: 1982-1989Franz Andersen: 1989-1991Tim Hollibough: 1991-1995Alissa Arp: 1995-2005Toby Garfield: 2005-

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The Center Has Been Led by a SuccessionOf Dedicated and Talented Directors:

Erwin Seibel: 1978-1980Curt Davis: 1980-1982Mike Josselyn: 1982-1989Franz Andersen: 1989-1991Tim Hollibough: 1991-1995Alissa Arp: 1995-2005Toby Garfield: 2005-

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The Center Has Been Led by a SuccessionOf Dedicated and Talented Directors:

Erwin Seibel: 1978-1980Curt Davis: 1980-1982Mike Josselyn: 1982-1989Franz Andersen: 1989-1991Tim Hollibough: 1991-1995Alissa Arp: 1995-2005Toby Garfield: 2005-

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