Modeling the San Francisco Bay Estuary to Inform Nature-Based Sediment and Baylands Management

Nearshore strategic placement—in addition to direct placement—has been proposed as a nature-based solution to reuse dredged sediment in support of mitigating the effects of sea level rise in the San Francisco Bay Area. The success of nearshore strategic placement relies on hydrodynamic forces moving sediment from the placement site to mudflats and marshes over time. Sediment transport and pathway models can be used to evaluate and prioritize potential placement sites, placement methods, transport rates (informing amount and frequency of sediment placement), sediment fate, and longevity. Models can also be used to predict the evolution of sites after initial placement and as sea level and sediment supply conditions evolve. This model-based information is needed to design wetland restoration and maintenance operations, inform the permitting approval process, and evaluate the costs and benefits of using strategic placement techniques to restore and maintain Bayland habitats in San Francisco Bay. This talk will focus on the estuarine process modeling as well as in-situ observation efforts that are being undertaken to assess sediment fate, sediment transport rates and sediment transport dynamics associated with nearshore strategic placement.