ADCP Data in Support of Water and Suspended-Sediment Flux Measurements at the Golden Gate, 2016-2017

Field observations of water and suspended-sediment fluxes at the Golden Gate were made over one ebb tide and one flood tide on three occasions: 1) 21-22 March 2016, following a large storm event that triggered the first flow into Yolo Bypass flood control structure since 2011; 2) 23 June of 2016, during a period of low freshwater inflow and 3) 27-28 February 2017, following several large storms of the wettest winter in northern California in recorded history. On each occasion, flux of water and suspended sediment were estimated using data from a boat-mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler. This instrument provided high-resolution velocity and acoustic backscatter (ABS) data at a cross-section (“transect”) near the estuary-ocean boundary, approximately 1 km landward (east) of the Golden Gate Bridge. Discrete water samples collected in situ were analyzed for suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) and related to ABS to allow quantification of sediment concentrations and fluxes.