Sediment accumulation in San Leandro Bay, Alameda County, California, during the 20th century - A preliminary report

Major changes made in the configuration of San Leandro Bay, Alameda County, California, during the 20th century have caused rapid sedimentation within parts of the Bay. Comparison of bathymetric surveys indicates that sedimentation in the vicinity of the San Leandro Bay channel averaged 0.7 cm/annum between 1856 and 1984. Lead-210 data collected at four shallow water sites east of the San Leandro Bay channel indicated that sedimentation rates have averaged between 0.06 and 0.28 cm/annum. Because bioturbation of bottom sediments cannot be discounted, better definition of this range in sedimentation rates would require measuring the activity of lead-210 on incoming sediments. In addition to sediment deposited in the vicinity of the San Leandro Bay channel and open, shallow areas to the east, 850,740 cu m of sediment was deposited between 1948 and 1983 in an area dredged at the mouth of San Leandro Creek. All available data indicate that between 1,213,000 and 1,364,000 cu m of sediment was deposited in San Leandro Bay between 1948 and 1983. Sediment yield data from an adjacent drainage basin, when combined with inventories of lead-210 and cesium-137, indicate that most of the sediment deposited in San Leandro Bay is coming from resuspension of bottom sediments or from erosion of marshes or shorelines of San Leandro or San Francisco Bay. 31 refs., 7 figs., 4 tabs