San Francisco Bay Area

"California, where earthquakes, droughts and wildfires have shaped life for generations, also faces the growing threat of another kind of calamity, one whose fury would be felt across the entire state. This one will come from the sky. According to new research, it will very likely take shape one winter in the Pacific, near Hawaii. No one knows exactly when, but from the vast expanse of tropical air around the Equator, atmospheric currents will pluck out a long tendril of water vapor and funnel it toward the West Coast . . . The coming superstorm — really, a rapid procession of what scientists call atmospheric rivers — will be the ultimate test of the dams, levees and bypasses California has built to impound nature’s might. But in a state where scarcity of water has long been the central fact of existence, global warming is not only worsening droughts and wildfires. Because warmer air can hold more moisture, atmospheric rivers can carry bigger cargoes of precipitation. The infrastructure design standards, hazard maps and disaster response plans that protected California from flooding in the past might soon be out of date."

“Their burrowing weakens the creekbank edges, so that whole chunks of marsh will sometimes calve off, and by lowering biomass they are reducing the ability of marsh plants to prevent erosion . . . Southeastern U.S. marshes appear to be a harbinger of what’s to come for marshes along the Pacific coast, with sea-level rise amplifying the effects of what would otherwise be considered an innocuous crab."

"Even under ideal conditions, it takes time for restored wetlands to go from sparse and fragile vegetation to lush and robust. And rising seas and severe storms are not ideal circumstances for adolescent wetlands, inundating or robbing the young upstarts of the sediment they need to develop and thrive. The sooner ponds can be breached and restoration started, the more likely it is that the wetlands will be able to mature into a resilient ecosystem."

"The ground around San Francisco Bay is sinking to meet the rising sea . . . sinking land, known as land subsidence, will increase the potential reach and damage of flooding in the Bay Area, submerging a larger portion of the region by the year 2100 than previously estimated . . . The combination of rising sea levels and sinking ground increases estimates of the total amount of endangered areas to a range of 48 to 166 square miles. The rate of sink plays a role in the severity of the estimate: While most areas around the Bay are sinking at less than two millimeters per year, some have been found to be sinking at a rate as high as 10 millimeters per year."

"Scientists say sea level rise will accelerate cliff retreat, doubling average erosion rates in southern California by 2100, including some of the state’s most heavily populated, tony coastal communities. That’s because sea level rise and more extreme storms mean bigger, higher waves washing away beaches and lapping at the bottoms of the cliffs. California stands to lose two-thirds of its beaches by the turn of the next century, in a wave of coastal economic destruction worse than the state’s most devastating fires to date."

"The oceans are fighting a daunting battle against climate change . . . From 2014 to 2016, a marine heatwave off the coast of California destroyed 90% of the state’s kelp forests. While restoring all types of sea plants and macroalgae is vital to ocean health, restoring kelp has added benefits. Kelp is especially effective at not only absorbing atmospheric CO2, but also in sequestering it—preventing carbon from getting released when it dies. When kelp dies, most of its biomass gets carried out to the open ocean. Eventually, its nodule-like structures release gasses, causing the kelp to sink. When it gets to the bottom, it gets buried in sediment. The carbon it gives off as it decomposes is sequestered in the sediment and remains there permanently."

"The first confirmed California condor visit to San Mateo County in a century took place in late May. Condor 597, a three year old female who hatched in the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park in April 2011, was recorded by a motion sensitive wildlife camera in a forested area near Pescadero. Pescadero is a small coastal town about 35 miles south of San Francisco and six miles from Ano Nuevo State park, a famed elephant seal rookery where occasional giant carcasses offer a potential prime source of condor chow. The sighting marks the first confirmed sighting California to the county of the San Francisco Peninsula since 1904."

"The Earth’s changing climate over the next century is projected to severely impact the San Francisco Bay’s coastal shoreline habitat, specifically with accelerated rates of sea level rise and coinciding reductions in sediment supply from rivers and tributaries . . . The Baylands tidal marshes serve to sequester carbon from the atmosphere, enhance water quality, buffer storm surges and diminish flooding of surrounding infrastructure as well as provide critical habitat refuge for specialized and endemic species."

"Unique to North America, by the 1970s bald eagles were on the brink of extinction with only about 500 nesting pairs left from the original estimate of half a million birds found in 45 of the 48 states. Their numbers had plummeted due to poisoning with DDT and lead, as well as shooting and habitat loss. Over the last 40 years, they've rebounded and they're now off the Federal Endangered Species list, though still endangered in California. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Balk and Golden Eagle Protection Act provide protection against hunting. Balk eagles took up nesting in the Bay Area in 1996 and now have a pair at about four of our larger lakes and reservoirs. They need about two square miles for a hunting territory. If you're fortunate, you might witness their spectacular courtship and territorial displays, which include pairs locking talons and plummeting toward earth in a twirl of six-to-seven foot wingspans."

Endangered in San Francisco, Mission Blue Butterflies were brought from San Bruno Mountain in San Mateo and released on Twin Peaks, the historic site where populations once thrived.

The San Joaquin River once boasted abundant runs of Chinook salmon annually. By 1999, they were listed under the Endangered Species Act. After much litigation, conservationists won a case to re-establish native populations, and in 2012, Chinook salmon were reintroduced into the second longest river in California, which drains to the San Francisco Bay Delta. The eventual goal is to boost spring and fall run populations to 40,000.

"8,532 acres of redwood forest and wildlife habitat in the Santa Cruz mountains will be protected after a coalition of San Francisco Bay Area conservation groups bought the land . . . The acquisition will prevent the subdivision of the land for luxury homes and link 26,000 acres of protected areas. It will also protect old-growth redwoods from logging under a conservation easement . . ."

Last seen in the 1930s, porpoises returned to play in San Francisco Bay in 2008. Their absence was ascribed to a World War II anti-submarine net across the Golden Gate, and poor water quality. Improved conditions have allowed their return, and the National Wildlife Federation and Golden Gate Cetacean Research have partnered up to ensure their survival here once again. "By 2008, they were here in significant numbers. For example, I could stand on the Golden Gate Bridge and count up to a hundred porpoises passing by in the course of two hours, around high tide. Even the average day will have 25-30 porpoises passing by. That's in contrast to the 1970s, when I first began monitoring the bay for marine mammals, and when we were seeing zero porpoises in the bay. . ."

"It is thought to be responsible for the collapse of some commercial fisheries in addition to the decline in the diversity and abundance of many benthic species in the area. The clam consumes large amounts of phyto- and zooplankton and therefore changes many of the existing community dynamics, resulting in many benthic species being unable to obtain enough food for growth. The clam is also a dominant species in the bay, accounting for 95% of the biomass in some areas. This reduces the amount of available space for other species to grow and reproduce."