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Bathymetric survey and digital elevation model of Little Holland Tract, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California

Open-File Report 2016-1093
By: , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161093

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Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a bathymetric survey in Little Holland Tract, a flooded agricultural tract, in the northern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (the “Delta”) during the summer of 2015. The new bathymetric data were combined with existing data to generate a digital elevation model (DEM) at 1-meter resolution. Little Holland Tract (LHT) was historically diked off for agricultural uses and has been tidally inundated since an accidental levee breach in 1983. Shallow tidal regions such as LHT have the potential to improve habitat quality in the Delta. The DEM of LHT was developed to support ongoing studies of habitat quality in the area and to provide a baseline for evaluating future geomorphic change. The new data comprise 138,407 linear meters of real-time-kinematic (RTK) Global Positioning System (GPS) elevation data, including both bathymetric data collected from personal watercraft and topographic elevations collected on foot at low tide. A benchmark (LHT15_b1) was established for geodetic control of the survey. Data quality was evaluated both by comparing results among surveying platforms, which showed systematic offsets of 1.6 centimeters (cm) or less, and by error propagation, which yielded a mean vertical uncertainty of 6.7 cm. Based on the DEM and time-series measurements of water depth, the mean tidal prism of LHT was determined to be 2,826,000 cubic meters. The bathymetric data and DEM are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7RX9954. 

Suggested Citation

Snyder, A.G., Lacy, J.R., Stevens, A.W., and Carlson, E.M., 2016, Bathymetric survey and digital elevation model of Little Holland Tract, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2016‒1093, 14 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161093.

ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgments
  • References Cited
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Bathymetric survey and digital elevation model of Little Holland Tract, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 2016-1093
DOI 10.3133/ofr20161093
Year Published 2016
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Description iv, 14 p.
Country United States
State California
Other Geospatial Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details