Millions of tons of sand and clay that Gold Rush miners scoured from the Sierra Nevada have finally flushed out to sea after more than a century in San Francisco Bay, according to the San Francisco Estuary Institute.
After more than a century of being murky from enough Gold Rush-era mining sediment to fill 60 Superdomes, researchers say, the Bay suddenly crossed a profound threshold 10 years ago and became much clearer.
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Understanding the Relative Sensitivity of Terns to PBDEs
Authors: Barnett Rattner (USGS)
San Francisco Bay is critical habitat for many birds including several rare and endangered species such as the Least Tern. Some of the highest polybrominanted diphenyl ether (PBDEs) concentrations identified to date have been measured in Bay Area Caspian, Least and Forster’s terns. At present, we have very little information to determine whether these concentrations are causing significant effects.
In 2007, the RMP will continue the Pilot Study of contaminant exposure and effects in the Bay. The 2003 RMP Program Review Panel recommended an increase in the Exposure and Effects Pilot Study (EEPS) budget and stated that biological effects research should be a priority. In response to this concern, the SC increased the funding for the EEPS budge to $200,000 per year and extend the pilot study through 2008. This budget includes funds for SFEI labor, subcontractors (e.g., analytical laboratories), and direct costs.
The Exposure and Effects Pilot Study was initiated in 2002 to understand the biological effects of the chemical contamination observed in the Estuary. This pilot study enters its last year of earmarked funding. Biological effects of contaminants have increasing become more important to regulators and regulated community (e.g. mercury TMDL which establishes thresholds for birds and fish). As a result, the RMP has expanded its monitoring program to include impacts to biota.
"There is definitely a concern,” said Jay Davis, a senior scientist with the San Francisco Estuary Institute, which did the study for the California Water Resource Control Board. “We don’t want to send the message that people shouldn’t eat fish or be fishing. It’s more that they should try to be informed and try to focus on the fish that have a lower level of the contaminants." Read full article
Congratulations to Patrick Lo of the SFPUC winner of gift certificate for dinner at Skates on the Bay