Climate and Human Influences on Freshwater Inflows and Salinity in the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary and Watershed

Attempts to understand and restore the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary and  its ecosystems are complicated by natural and human influences on estuarine conditions. Specifically, the influence of climate variability on the upstream watershed interacts with the impacts of reservoirs and freshwater exports to determine estuarine variability on seasonal to interdecadal time scales. Model results and observations will be presented to help clarify the nature of this variability, including the mechanisms by which climate variability is propagated into the estuary and the relationship between human-induced and "natural" influences. Some implications for management of the estuarine ecosystems will also be discussed.