Temporal Dynamics of an Estuary: San Francisco Bay

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-VII

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2. Environmental setting of San Francisco Bay

   • T. J. Conomos, R. E. Smith, J. W. Gartner

   Pages 1-12

3. Time scales of circulation and mixing processes of San Francisco Bay waters

   • R. A. Walters, R. T. Cheng, T. J. Conomos

   Pages 13-36

4. Interannual variability in dissolved inorganic nutrients in Northern San Francisco Bay Estuary

   • David H. Peterson, Richard E. Smith, Stephen W. Hager, Dana D. Harmon, Raynol E. Herndon, Laurence E. Schemel

   Pages 37-58

5. Gas exchange in San Francisco Bay

   • Blayne Hartman, Douglas E. Hammond

   Pages 59-68

6. Benthic fluxes in San Francisco Bay

   • Douglas E. Hammond, Christopher Fuller, Dana Harmon, Blayne Hartman, Michael Korosec, Laurence G. Miller et al.

   Pages 69-90

7. Temporal fluctuations in grain size, organic materials and iron concentrations in intertidal surface sediment of San Francisco Bay

   • Elizabeth A. Thomson-Becker, Samuel N. Luoma

   Pages 91-107

8. Temporal fluctuations of silver, copper and zinc in the bivalve Macoma balthica at five stations in South San Francisco Bay

   • Samuel N. Luoma, Daniel Cain, Christopher Johansson

   Pages 109-120

9. Time scales of change in the San Francisco Bay benthos

   • Frederic H. Nichols, Janet K. Thompson

   Pages 121-138

10. The distribution and temporal dynamics of the estuarine macroalgal community of San Francisco Bay

    • Michael N. Josselyn, John A. West

    Pages 139-152

11. Temporal dynamics of estuarine phytoplankton: A case study of San Francisco Bay

    • James E. Cloern, Brian E. Cole, Raymond L. J. Wong, Andrea E. Alpine

    Pages 153-176

12. Seasonal cycles of zooplankton from San Francisco Bay

    • Julie W. Ambler, James E. Cloern, Anne Hutchinson

    Pages 177-197

13. Seasonal and interannual variation in distribution and population abundance of the shrimp Crangon franciscorum in San Francisco Bay

    • Susan E. Hatfield

    Pages 199-210

14. Distribution and abundance of fishes in the San Francisco Bay estuary between 1980 and 1982

    • Charles Armor, Perry L. Herrgesell

    Pages 211-227

15. Time scales and mechanisms of estuarine variability, a synthesis from studies of San Francisco Bay

    • James E. Cloern, Frederic H. Nichols

    Pages 229-237

Estuaries are highly dynamic systems subject to changes occurring over a spectrum of time scales ranging from very short periods (e. g. over a tidal cycle) to geologic time scales. The nature of an estuary reflects complex responses to many driving forces, each having a characteristic frequency (or frequencies) of change. For example, freshwater inflow to estuaries varies daily in response to short-term events such as storms, seasonally, and between years as a result of longer-term climatic variability. Other important components of weather, e. g. wind speed/ direction and daily insolation, also vary over time scales ranging from hours to years. Tidal amplitude changes continuously with dominant frequencies associated with the semi-diurnal cycle, the fortnightly neap-spring, and the semi-annual cycle. Temporal dynamics of these driving forces evoke responses in the form of changing (I) circulation patterns and mixing, (2) sediment composition and transport, (3) solute speciation and distribution, (4) composition and abundance of particulates, (5) biomass, species composition, and productivity of plant and animal communities, (6) rates of material exchange between the sediments, water column, and atmosphere, and (7) bioavailability of trace metals and other pollutants. The purpose of this book is to examine the temporal dynamics of these properties and processes in the San Francisco Bay estuary.

• benthic
• environment
• fluxes
• phytoplankton
• plankton
• temporal dynamics
• zooplankton

`... it is also welcome as a solid, first-class contribution to the knowledge of estuarine processes in one of the world's most complicated estuarine systems.'
The Quarterly Review of Biology, 61 (1986)

• USGS, Menlo Park, USA

  James E. Cloern, Frederic H. Nichols

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