Abstract: The Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge encompasses a rich mosaic of habitats and is a fecund and convenient field site for Earth science research, comprised of tidal salt marsh, open ponds, shallow water, mudflat habitat and encompassing a variety of tide, salinity, elevation, slope, and other conditions. Proximity to the NASA Ames Research Center and overlap with the center’s UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) test area presents the opportunity to create a unique natural lab…