Lower Adobe Creek

Sediment is becoming an increasingly precious resource for maintaining baylands along the shoreline around San Francisco Bay. As sea level rises, sediment needs to deposit on baylands (marshes and mudflats) to allow them to rise in elevation and continue to provide vital ecosystem services. However, there may not be enough sediment naturally reaching San Francisco’s tidal marshes to keep pace with sea level rise. This may mean greater flood risk, loss of marsh habitat and biodiversity, decreased water filtration, and reduced drawdown of carbon.

Sediment Solutions is a timely and innovative project that builds on SFEI’s past work, operationalizing cutting-edge science to inform management approaches that take advantage of natural processes to provide more creek sediment to baylands, increase climate resilience, and enhance creek health. With study areas in North Bay, East Bay, and South Bay, the project will provide new guidance for management strategies that support flood risk management and ecosystem health benefits throughout the region.