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small noaa logo Home | Pollutants in the Environment | Watershed Database & Mapping Projects

San Francisco Bay Watershed Database and Mapping Project Software & Data

San Francisco Bay imagery data graphic.
San Francisco Bay GIS Data

The San Francisco/ Sacramento - San Joaquin delta estuary is the largest estuary on the U.S. Pacific Coast. The estuary supports a diverse and productive ecosystem, but economic development, land use changes, and related increases in contaminant loading have seriously degraded and even  destroyed some habitats.  ARD is continuing to develop the San Francisco Watershed project, which includes North, Central, South, and Suisun bays.

San Francisco Watershed project is designed to help state and federal trustees integrate existing point data on sediment chemistry, tissue chemistry, and sediment toxicity with maps that identify key habitats and potential restoration sites. Potential restoration sites are identified and screened by selecting projects with a high probability of long-term enhancement or restoration of habitat and functions beneficial to targeted species. 

Although previous Watershed Projects have focused on wetland restoration efforts, ARD has entered into a partnership with several other NOAA agencies (OCS, NCCOS, CSC, NMFS) and California State University's Moss Landing Marine Laboratory to develop subtidal habitat  management goals. The goal of the partnership is to collect and analyze data on the quantity and quality of sub-tidal habitats based on existing multi-beam and newly acquired sidescan sonar surveys, as well as historical habitat information. As a result of this partnership, the San Francisco Watershed Project has been expanded to include subtidal habitats and species information regarding eelgrass beds, rock reef, sand shoals, oyster reef, and tidal channels. By incorporating enhanced subtidal habitat mapping and assessment techniques, compiling fundamental habitat ecology data, and creating geo-spatial tools to deliver information to support habitat management, resource managers will be better able to interpret available data and to establish subtidal habitat goals.

For more information on using this project:
  • Query Manager and MARPLOT An introductin to the Query Manager and MARPLOT applications that are used extensively throughout the ARD watershed projects
  • ARD IMS Sites An introduction to all of the CPRD Internet Mapping Sites

Downloads & Publications:

Other San Francisco Bay Project Pages:

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