The State of Bay-Delta Science (SBDS) is a collection of papers intended to inform science and policy audiences about the “state of the science” for topics of high management concern in the Bay-Delta system. The other two components of the Delta Science Strategy are the Delta Science Plan (a shared vision for Delta science) and Science Action Agenda (prioritized science actions for the Delta).
The first edition of SBDS was produced in 2008, providing 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.
Watch a short video about the SBDS editions