The Twitchell Wetland site is a 7.4-acre restored wetland on Twitchell Island, that is managed by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). In the fall of 1997, the site was permanently flooded to a depth of approximately 25 cm. The wetland was almost completely covered by cattails and tules by the third growing season. A flux tower equipped to analyze energy, H2O, CO2, and CH4 fluxes was installed on May 17, 2012.

The research approach of the University of California, Berkeley Biometeorology Laboratory involves the coordinated use of experimental measurements and theoretical models to understand the physical, biological, and chemical processes that control trace gas fluxes between the biosphere and atmosphere and to quantify their temporal and spatial variations. The research objectives of the Mayberry Wetland, Twitchell Wetland, Sherman Island, Twitchell Island, Twitchell Alfalfa, and Twitchell Corn sites are as follows: 1) Describe differences in the fluxes of CO2, CH4, H2O, and energy between different land uses; 2) Understand the mechanisms controlling these fluxes; 3) Use ecosystem modeling to understand controls on these mechanisms under different environmental scenarios. These six sites were selected to capture a wide range of inundated conditions within the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The research focuses on the eddy covariance technique to measure CH4, CO2, H2O, and energy fluxes and works to combine measurements of both net fluxes and partitioned fluxes in order to achieve a mechanistic understanding of the ecological controls on current and future carbon flux in the Delta.