Five historical hydrographic surveys of South San Francisco Bay from 1858 to 1983 provide a record of sediment deposition, erosion, and bathymetric change. Analysis of these surveys enabled the creation of 50-meter resolution bathymetric grids for each period, allowing quantification of sediment volumes and change rates. The dataset was compiled by the National Ocean Service and summarized by the USGS.
Use Cases
- Quantify net sediment volume change by differencing corrected bathymetric grids from consecutive survey periods.
- Analyze spatial patterns of erosion and deposition using the 50-meter resolution georeferenced bathymetric grids.
- Calculate long-term rates of sediment change in the bay from maps of deposition and erosion spanning 125 years.
- Model historical land subsidence corrections applied to bathymetric data between 1934 and 1967.
- Reconstruct the bay floor surface for five time periods using digitized soundings and shoreline data from hydrographic sheets.
Strengths
- Covers a 125-year temporal range from 1858 to 1983.
- Bathymetric data processed into consistent 50-meter horizontal resolution grids.
- Includes corrections for vertical datum and land subsidence for comparative analysis.
Limitations
- Limited to five discrete survey snapshots over 125 years, with gaps in temporal coverage.
- Spatial coverage is restricted to South San Francisco Bay.
- Historical survey methods may have lower precision compared to modern sonar techniques.
Provenance
- Source
- National Ocean Service (NOS), formerly the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (USCGS).
- Collection Method
- Digitized from original hydrographic survey sheets and topographic sheets, georeferenced in a GIS, and modeled into bathymetric grids.
- Time Range
- 1858 to 1983
- Freshness
- Data collection ended in 1983; the dataset is historical and not updated.
- Geography
- South San Francisco Bay, California, USA.