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Zusatztext "The general reader living in or visiting the bay area would find this book of interest. It would also be a valuable resource to those studying or working in coastal! estuary! or river conservation and restoration. . . . Highly recommended." Informationen zum Autor Ariel Rubissow Okamoto is the author of books and articles about San Francisco Bay! California water history! and national parks. Her articles have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle! Bay Nature! and other publications. Kathleen M. Wong is the science writer for the UC Natural Reserve System. Her articles have appeared in Bay Nature! California Wild! and Nature! and elsewhere. Klappentext "After experiencing! researching! and writing about San Francisco Bay over a period of 50 years! I was certain that I knew all there was to know about it. I was wrong. Rubissow Okamoto and Wong have enabled me to see it in a new dimension-call it 3D or maybe even 4D." -Harold Gilliam! author of San Francisco Bay "This is an eminently readable account of the natural and human history of San Francisco Bay." -Rainer Hoenicke! Director! San Francisco Estuary Institute Zusammenfassung This complete primer on San Francisco Bay is a multifaceted exploration of an extraordinary, and remarkably resilient, body of water. Bustling with oil tankers, laced with pollutants, and crowded with forty-six cities, the bay is still home to healthy eelgrass beds, young Dungeness crabs and sharks, and millions of waterbirds. Written in an entertaining style for a wide audience, Natural History of San Francisco Bay delves into an array of topics including fish and wildlife, ocean and climate cycles, endangered and invasive species, and the path from industrialization to environmental restoration. More than sixty scientists, activists, and resource managers share their views and describe their work—tracing mercury through the aquatic ecosystem, finding ways to convert salt ponds back to tidal wetlands, anticipating the repercussions of climate change, and more. Fully illustrated and packed with stories, quotes, and facts, the guide also tells how San Francisco Bay sparked an environmental movement that now reaches across the country. Inhaltsverzeichnis Prologue Acknowledgments Taking the Plunge An Ever-Changing Environment Saving the Bay Inside and Out Beneath the Surface: What Is an Estuary? Geography and Geology Fresh and Salt Mix Rivers Creeks and Drainages Bays within the Bay Tides! Offshore Currents! and Upwelling Water Layers and Flows Wind! Waves! and Erosion Sediment Weather and Ocean Cycles Climate over Millennia Conclusion Visible and Invisible Life: Fish! Birds! and Other Wildlife Living Conditions Plants Bottom-dwellers Fish Mammals Birds Conclusion History of Human Changes: 1800s–1960s Earliest Inhabitants Explorers! Missionaries! and Hunters The Allure of Gold Fighting Floods Reclaiming Swamps Farms and Towns Expand Fishing for a Living Culturing Oysters Fish and Wildlife Protection Industrialized Fishing Bay and Riverfront Enterprise Transportation Facilities Controlling Water Supply and Floods Growing through War Conclusion The Environmental Backlash: 1960s–Present Stopping Fill Clean Water Preventing Spills and Runoff Emerging Contaminants Curing the Throwaway Habit Last of the Fishing Maintaining Ports and Shipping A Place for Wetlands and Wildlife Warring over Water Caring for Urban Creeks Preventing Invasions A Few Bad A...
