Geochemical tracers of sediment sources to San Francisco Bay

Research Article| June 01, 2002 Geochemical tracers of sediment sources to San Francisco Bay B. Lynn Ingram; B. Lynn Ingram 1Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jo C. Lin Jo C. Lin 1Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2002) 30 (6): 575–578. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0575:GTOSST>2.0.CO;2 Article history received: 22 Jun 2001 rev-recd: 04 Feb 2002 accepted: 21 Feb 2002 first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation B. Lynn Ingram, Jo C. Lin; Geochemical tracers of sediment sources to San Francisco Bay. Geology 2002;; 30 (6): 575–578. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0575:GTOSST>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract River inflow and suspended-sediment flux to San Francisco Bay are dominated by the Sacramento and San Joaquin River systems. Suspended sediments collected from rivers within the Sacramento and San Joaquin drainage basins show distinct chemical and Sr isotope signatures, reflecting their distinct bedrock lithologies. Concentrations of Sm, Nd, K, and Rb and 87Sr/86Sr ratios in suspended sediments increase from north to south in Sierra Nevada rivers and are significantly higher in the San Joaquin drainage than in the Sacramento drainage. We show that variations in the geochemistry of fine-grained detrital sediments cored beneath the bay can be used to assess the relative contributions of suspended sediment and inflow from these two major drainages in California. For the sampled intervals over the past 1850 yr, the proportion of suspended sediment from the Sacramento drainage relative to the San Joaquin drainage ranged between 5% and 85% (average value of 55%), compared with a modern value of ∼91%. The current predominance of sediment entering San Francisco Bay from the Sacramento drainage may be the result of greater trapping of sediments by reservoirs within the San Joaquin drainage basin. Changes in the relative proportion of sediment from the Sacramento and San Joaquin drainages may reflect changes in the position of the storm track over California. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.