IEP Data and Metadata

The Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) monitoring studies have collected hydrodynamic, water quality, and biological data in the San Francisco Bay-Delta since 1959.

Over the decades, surveys have been added or modified in both geographic scope or in protocol. Surveys vary with respect to their period of record, their geographic and seasonal coverage, and in the types of the data they collect.

The goals of this page are to provide an overview of IEP surveys and the diversity of data they collect, and to provide direct access to metadata and data for all possible surveys.

Table 1 provides an overview of existing long-term monitoring programs of IEP and illustrates the data types currently collected by each survey. Tables 2-4 provide detailed information and links to metadata and data for individual surveys focused on water quality, phytoplankton, invertebrates, and fish. Fish surveys found in Table 4 include additional data types collected along-side fish sampling, such as discrete water quality and zooplankton.

Table 1.

Program	IEP PEN	Hydrodynamics	Discrete Water Quality	Continuous Water Quality	Phytoplankton	Zooplankton	Benthic Invertebrates	Fish
Fall Midwater Trawl	003		X			X		X
Summer Townet Survey	007		X			X		X
Bay Study	011/ 012		X				X	X
Bay Salinity Monitoring	029		X	X
Delta Flow network	030	X		X
20-mm Survey	033		X			X		X
Delta Juvenile Fish Monitoring Program	053/301/302		X					X
Environmental Monitoring Program	072/077		X	X	X	X	X
San Joaquin River Dissolved Oxygen Monitoring	073		X	X
Knights Landing Juvenile Salmon	074		X					X
Spring Kodiak Trawl	088		X					X
Suisun Marsh Survey	093		X			X		X
Smelt Larval Survey	096		X					X
Operation of Thermograph Stations	104		X
Adult Striped Bass Population Estimates	002		X					X
Adult Sturgeon	005		X					X
Yolo Bypass Fisheries Monitoring Survey	047		X	X	X	X		X
Liberty Island Fish Survey	279		X			X		X

Table 2. Hydrodynamic and Water Quality Surveys

Program	Agency	Contact Information	Descriptor	Start Year	Sample Site Map (and shapefiles if available)	Metadata Link	Download Data
Delta Flow Network	United States Geological Survey (USGS)	Cathy Ruhl cruhl@usgs.gov (916) 278-3129	Real-time flow and water-quality	1988	Map	Continuous Water Quality Flow Data	Data Data Management Plan
Bay Salinity Monitoring	USGS	Maureen Downing-Kunz mdowning-kunz@usgs.gov (916) 278-3051	Real-time, continuous water-quality	1989	Map	Continuous Water Quality Discrete Water Quality	Data Data Management Plan
Environmental Monitoring Program: Discrete Water Quality	Department of Water Resources (DWR)	Jenna Rinde (916) 376-9644	Physical and chemical constituents collected monthly	1975	Active Historic	Discrete Water Quality	Data Estuary Portal Data Management Plan
Continuous Water Quality	DWR	Scott Waller (916) 376-9775	D-1641 compliance stations-water quality data is collected every 15-minutes and telemetered to CDEC	1978	Active & Historic	Continuous Water Quality	Data Contact Mike Dempsey Data Management Plan
	DWR	Rolf Frankenback (916) 376-9661	Water quality data is collected every 15-minutes and telemetered to CDEC	1998	Map and coordinates provided in metadata	Water Quality Evaluation Section	Water Data Library Home
	USGS				See above under Delta Flow Network
	United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)	Arien Chavez
	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
San Joaquin River Dissolved Oxygen Monitoring	DWR	Jenna Rinde (916) 376-9773	Dissolved oxygen data is collected bimonthly during the summer and fall	1968			Contact Jenna Rinde Data Management Plan
Yolo Bypass Fish Monitoring Program: Continuous Water Quality	DWR	Brian Schreier (916) 376-9759	Several stations in Yolo Bypass and one comparison location in Sacramento River	1999 and various (site dependent)	Map		Contact Brittany Davis Data Management Plan

Table 3. Phytoplankton, Zooplankton, and Benthic Invertebrate Surveys

Program	Agency	Contact Information	Descriptor	Start Year	Sample Site Map (and shapefile if available)	Metadata Link	Download Data
Environmental Monitoring Program: Phytoplankton	DWR	Tiffany Brown (916) 376-9723	Monthly chlorophyll and phytoplankton samples collected throughout the estuary	1975	Active Monitoring Stations Historically Sampled Stations	Estuary Portal	Data Data Management Plan
Yolo Bypass Fish Monitoring Program: Lower Trophic	DWR	Brian Schreier (916) 376-9759	Biweekly samples in Yolo Bypass, and one comparison location in the Sacramento River	Chlorophyll: 2001 and various (site dependent); Phytoplankton: 2015 Zooplankton: 1998; Drift Invertebrates: 1998	Map - YBFMP Lower Trophic Sites	YBFMP Metadata - Chlorophyll YBFMP Metadata - DriftInvert YBFMP - Egg and Larvae YBFMP - Zooplankton	Contact Brittany Davis Data Management Plan
Environmental Monitoring Program: Benthics	DWR	Betsy Wells (916) 376-9821	Benthic samples collected monthly at ten sites located throughout the estuary	1975	Map 1 - Benthic Historic Monitoring Stations Map 2 - Benthic Active Monitoring Stations	Benthic Organisms	Data Data Management Plan
Environmental Monitoring Program: Zooplankton	CDFW	April Hennessy (209) 234-3665	Monthly microzooplankton (63-150 microns), mesozooplankton (150-500 microns), and mysid (>500 microns) samples collected throughout the estuary	1975	Actively sampled stations	Zooplankton	Data Data Management Plan
Fall Midwater Trawl: Zooplankton	CDFW	Randy Baxter, (209) 234-3483	A subset of stations are sampled for zooplankton: Clarke-Bumpus (CB)and mysid nets	2005 Sep only, 2011 Sep-Dec	Map	Metadata	Data Data Management Plan
Summer Townet Survey: Zooplankton	CDFW	Randy Baxter, (209) 234-3483	Zooplankton sampled during first tow (CB sample).	2005	Map	Metadata	Data Data Management Plan
20-mm Survey: Zooplankton	CDFW	Bob Fujimura (209) 234-3485	Zooplankton; CB samples, March-July	1995	Map	Metadata	Data
Bay Study: Benthics	CDFW	Kathy Hieb (209) 234-3484	Decapods: shrimp, and crabs using otter trawls and midwater trawls throughout the Bay and upper estuary.	1980		Metadata included in zipped folders with Access databases	Data Data Management Plan

Table 4. Fish Surveys

Program	Agency	Contact Information	Descriptor	Start Year	Site Map	Metadata Link	Download Data
Fall Midwater Trawl	CDFW	Randy Baxter, (209) 234-3483	Fish survey using midwater trawls to target juvenile and adult fish throughout the upper estuary during the fall.	1967	Map	Metadata	Data Monthly abundance indices Data Management Plan
Summer Townet Survey	CDFW	Randy Baxter, (209) 234-3483	Fish survey targeting juvenile Delta Smelt and age-0 striped bass during June through August.	1959	Map	Metadata	Data Delta Smelt abundance indices Data Management Plan
Bay Study	CDFW	Kathy Hieb (209) 234-3484	Survey of pelagic and demersal fish, shrimp, and crabs using otter trawls and midwater trawls throughout the Bay and upper estuary.	1980		Metadata included in zipped folders with Access databases	Data Fish distribution maps Data Management Plan
20-mm Survey	CDFW	Bob Fujimura (209) 234-3485	Larval and small juvenile fish survey to determine timing, distribution and abundance of Delta Smelt larvae and their food supply (zooplankton; CB samples), March-July	1995	Map	Metadata	Data Fish distribution maps Data Management Plan
Delta Juvenile Fish Monitoring Program	United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)	Brian Mahardja (209) 334-2968 Ext. 406	Beach seine and trawling surveys from San Pablo Bay to Colusa on Sacramento River and lower San Joaquin River	Beach seine, Chipps Island trawl: 1976; Sherwood Harbor (Sac River) trawls: 1988; Mossdale (San Joaquin River) trawl: 1994	Map and coordinates provided in metadata	Metadata	Data Data Management Plan
Knights Landing Juvenile Salmon	CDFW	Colin Purdy (916) 358-2943	Rotary screw traps in the Sacramento River fished from Oct-June targeting juvenile Chinook salmon.	1995		Contact Colin Purdy	Data Data Management Plan
Spring Kodiak Trawl	CDFW	Bob Fujimura (209) 234-3485	Fish survey targeting adult, spawning delta smelt, Jan-May	2002	Map	Metadata	Data Delta Smelt distribution maps Data Management Plan
Suisun Marsh Survey	University of California, Davis (UCD)	Teejay O’Rear	Fish and invertebrate sampling in Suisun Marsh to document long-term population trends of native and introduced fishes.	1979			Contact Teejay O’Rear Data Management Plan
Smelt Larval Survey	CDFW	Bob Fujimura (209) 234-3485	Near real-time distribution data for targeting larval smelt in the upper estuary, Jan-March	2009		Metadata	Data Distribution maps Data Management Plan
Striped Bass Study	CDFW		Monitors adult striped bass through creel surveys, mark-recapture studies, and commercial passenger fishing vessel log-book information.	1969			Summary graphs and reports Data Management Plan
Sturgeon Study	CDFW		Monitors adult green and white sturgeon through creel surveys, mark-recapture studies, and commercial passenger fishing vessel log-book information.	1967			Summary graphs and reports Data Management Plan
Yolo Bypass Fish Monitoring Program	DWR	Brian Schreier (916) 376-9759	Biweekly beach seines, juvenile fish rotary screw trap (Jan – June); adult fish fyke net (October – June); biweekly larval fish tows in the Yolo Bypass.	Beach seines, rotary screw trap: 1998; Fyke trap, larval tows: 1999	Map – Beach Seine Map - Fyke Map – Rotary Screw Trap Map – Eggs and Larvae	YBFMP Metadata-Fish YBFMP Metadata - Egg&Larvae	Data Data Management Plan
Liberty Island Fish Survey	USFWS	Denise Barnard (209) 334-2968 ext. 307	Larval fish sampling and monthly beach seine surveys inside Liberty Island.				Contact Denise Barnard Data Management Plan

IEP Data and Metadata

Table 1.

Table 2. Hydrodynamic and Water Quality Surveys

Table 3. Phytoplankton, Zooplankton, and Benthic Invertebrate Surveys

Table 4. Fish Surveys

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