The State of Bay-Delta Science (SBDS) is an ongoing synthesis and communication effort intended to inform science and policy audiences about the “state of the science” for topics relevant to management of the Bay-Delta system. Editions of SBDS consist of collections of scientific articles published in the peer-reviewed journal San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science. While the first two editions of SBDS covered a broad range of topics, the 2022 and future editions contain suites of articles organized by themes identified by the SBDS Editorial Board.
2022 EDITION (IN PROGRESS)
The next edition of SBDS is currently in production and will feature a suite of articles exploring “Ecosystem services and disservices of Bay-Delta primary producers: how plants and algae affect ecosystems and respond to management of the estuary and its watershed.” Articles are anticipated to be released in 2022.
PREVIOUS EDITIONS
The first edition of SBDS, produced in 2008, provided a system-wide baseline for the state of scientific knowledge of the system and a reframing of the interaction between policy and science. For the 2016 edition, the Editorial Board (Michael Healey, University of British Columbia; Michael Dettinger, US Geological Survey; and Richard Norgaard, Emeritus, UC Berkeley - identified the most relevant science issues based on a survey of senior scientists and managers working in the Delta. The 15 peer-reviewed papers that form SBDS 2016 cover issues ranging from contaminants in the Delta to levee stability, and from Delta food webs to recent discoveries about salmon migration.
In order to distill key findings in SBDS 2016 for a policymaker audience, Michael Healey and Richard Norgaard prepared a summary for policymakers entitled “The Delta on Fast Forward: Thinking Beyond the Next Crisis.” This summary presented seven new perspectives based on SBDS 2016, described a suite of tools that are advancing Delta science, and suggested eight forward-thinking actions for conducting science in the Delta.
To request a copy of previous reports, please contact archives@deltacouncil.ca.gov.
Watch a short video about the 2016 SBDS editions