Estuary

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Rio de la Plata estuary Rio de la Plata BA 2.JPG
Río de la Plata estuary
Mattole River estuary Mattole River Estuary 2005.jpg
Mattole River estuary

An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. [1] Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone. Estuaries are subject both to marine influences such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water, and to fluvial influences such as flows of freshwater and sediment. The mixing of seawater and freshwater provides high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world. [2]

Contents

Most existing estuaries formed during the Holocene epoch with the flooding of river-eroded or glacially scoured valleys when the sea level began to rise about 10,000–12,000 years ago. [3] Estuaries are typically classified according to their geomorphological features or to water-circulation patterns. They can have many different names, such as bays, harbors, lagoons, inlets, or sounds, although some of these water bodies do not strictly meet the above definition of an estuary and could be fully saline.

Many estuaries suffer degeneration from a variety of factors including soil erosion, deforestation, overgrazing, overfishing and the filling of wetlands. Eutrophication may lead to excessive nutrients from sewage and animal wastes; pollutants including heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls, radionuclides and hydrocarbons from sewage inputs; and diking or damming for flood control or water diversion. [3] [4]

Definition

New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary New York STS058-081-038.jpg
New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary
River Exe estuary Exe estuary from balloon.jpg
River Exe estuary
Estuary mouth located in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia Estuary mouth.jpg
Estuary mouth located in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
A crowded estuary mouth in Paravur near the city of Kollam, India Thekkumbhagam Estuary, Paravur.jpg
A crowded estuary mouth in Paravur near the city of Kollam, India
Estuary mouth of the Yachats River in Yachats, Oregon Yachats River estuary mouth.jpg
Estuary mouth of the Yachats River in Yachats, Oregon
Amazon River estuary Mouths of amazon geocover 1990.png
Amazon River estuary

The word "estuary" is derived from the Latin word aestuarium meaning tidal inlet of the sea, which in itself is derived from the term aestus, meaning tide. There have been many definitions proposed to describe an estuary. The most widely accepted definition is: "a semi-enclosed coastal body of water, which has a free connection with the open sea, and within which seawater is measurably diluted with freshwater derived from land drainage". [1] However, this definition excludes a number of coastal water bodies such as coastal lagoons and brackish seas.

A more comprehensive definition of an estuary is "a semi-enclosed body of water connected to the sea as far as the tidal limit or the salt intrusion limit and receiving freshwater runoff; however the freshwater inflow may not be perennial, the connection to the sea may be closed for part of the year and tidal influence may be negligible". [3] This broad definition also includes fjords, lagoons, river mouths, and tidal creeks. An estuary is a dynamic ecosystem having a connection to the open sea through which the sea water enters with the rhythm of the tides. The effects of tides on estuaries can show nonlinear effects on the movement of water which can have important impacts on the ecosystem and waterflow. The seawater entering the estuary is diluted by the fresh water flowing from rivers and streams. The pattern of dilution varies between different estuaries and depends on the volume of freshwater, the tidal range, and the extent of evaporation of the water in the estuary. [2]

Classification based on geomorphology

Drowned river valleys

Drowned river valleys are also known as coastal plain estuaries. In places where the sea level is rising relative to the land, sea water progressively penetrates into river valleys and the topography of the estuary remains similar to that of a river valley. This is the most common type of estuary in temperate climates. Well-studied estuaries include the Severn Estuary in the United Kingdom and the Ems Dollard along the Dutch-German border.

The width-to-depth ratio of these estuaries is typically large, appearing wedge-shaped (in cross-section) in the inner part and broadening and deepening seaward. Water depths rarely exceed 30 m (100 ft). Examples of this type of estuary in the U.S. are the Hudson River, Chesapeake Bay, and Delaware Bay along the Mid-Atlantic coast, and Galveston Bay and Tampa Bay along the Gulf Coast. [5]

Lagoon-type or bar-built

Bar-built estuaries are found in a place where the deposition of sediment has kept pace with rising sea levels so that the estuaries are shallow and separated from the sea by sand spits or barrier islands. They are relatively common in tropical and subtropical locations.

These estuaries are semi-isolated from ocean waters by barrier beaches (barrier islands and barrier spits). Formation of barrier beaches partially encloses the estuary, with only narrow inlets allowing contact with the ocean waters. Bar-built estuaries typically develop on gently sloping plains located along tectonically stable edges of continents and marginal sea coasts. They are extensive along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U.S. in areas with active coastal deposition of sediments and where tidal ranges are less than 4 m (13 ft). The barrier beaches that enclose bar-built estuaries have been developed in several ways:

Fjord-type

Fjords were formed where Pleistocene glaciers deepened and widened existing river valleys so that they become U-shaped in cross-sections. At their mouths there are typically rocks, bars or sills of glacial deposits, which have the effects of modifying the estuarine circulation.

Fjord-type estuaries are formed in deeply eroded valleys formed by glaciers. These U-shaped estuaries typically have steep sides, rock bottoms, and underwater sills contoured by glacial movement. The estuary is shallowest at its mouth, where terminal glacial moraines or rock bars form sills that restrict water flow. In the upper reaches of the estuary, the depth can exceed 300 m (1,000 ft). The width-to-depth ratio is generally small. In estuaries with very shallow sills, tidal oscillations only affect the water down to the depth of the sill, and the waters deeper than that may remain stagnant for a very long time, so there is only an occasional exchange of the deep water of the estuary with the ocean. If the sill depth is deep, water circulation is less restricted, and there is a slow but steady exchange of water between the estuary and the ocean. Fjord-type estuaries can be found along the coasts of Alaska, the Puget Sound region of western Washington state, British Columbia, eastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, New Zealand, Chile, and Norway.

Tectonically produced

These estuaries are formed by subsidence or land cut off from the ocean by land movement associated with faulting, volcanoes, and landslides. Inundation from eustatic sea-level rise during the Holocene Epoch has also contributed to the formation of these estuaries. There are only a small number of tectonically produced estuaries; one example is the San Francisco Bay, which was formed by the crustal movements of the San Andreas Fault system causing the inundation of the lower reaches of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. [6]

Classification based on water circulation

Salt wedge

In this type of estuary, river output greatly exceeds marine input and tidal effects have minor importance. Freshwater floats on top of the seawater in a layer that gradually thins as it moves seaward. The denser seawater moves landward along the bottom of the estuary, forming a wedge-shaped layer that is thinner as it approaches land. As a velocity difference develops between the two layers, shear forces generate internal waves at the interface, mixing the seawater upward with the freshwater. An examples of a salt wedge estuary is Mississippi River [6] and the Mandovi estuary in Goa during the monsoon period.

Partially mixed

As tidal forcing increases, river output becomes less than the marine input. Here, current induced turbulence causes mixing of the whole water column such that salinity varies more longitudinally rather than vertically, leading to a moderately stratified condition. Examples include the Chesapeake Bay and Narragansett Bay. [6]

Well-mixed

Tidal mixing forces exceed river output, resulting in a well-mixed water column and the disappearance of the vertical salinity gradient. The freshwater-seawater boundary is eliminated due to the intense turbulent mixing and eddy effects. The lower reaches of Delaware Bay and the Raritan River in New Jersey are examples of vertically homogeneous estuaries. [6]

Inverse

Inverse estuaries occur in dry climates where evaporation greatly exceeds the inflow of freshwater. A salinity maximum zone is formed, and both riverine and oceanic water flow close to the surface towards this zone. [7] This water is pushed downward and spreads along the bottom in both the seaward and landward direction. [3] Examples of an inverse estuary are Spencer Gulf, South Australia, [8] Saloum River and Casamance River, Senegal. [9]

Intermittent

Estuary type varies dramatically depending on freshwater input, and is capable of changing from a wholly marine embayment to any of the other estuary types. [10] [11]

Physiochemical variation

The most important variable characteristics of estuary water are the concentration of dissolved oxygen, salinity and sediment load. There is extreme spatial variability in salinity, with a range of near-zero at the tidal limit of tributary rivers to 3.4% at the estuary mouth. At any one point, the salinity will vary considerably over time and seasons, making it a harsh environment for organisms. Sediment often settles in intertidal mudflats which are extremely difficult to colonize. No points of attachment exist for algae, so vegetation based habitat is not established.[ clarification needed ] Sediment can also clog feeding and respiratory structures of species, and special adaptations exist within mudflat species to cope with this problem. Lastly, dissolved oxygen variation can cause problems for life forms. Nutrient-rich sediment from human-made sources can promote primary production life cycles, perhaps leading to eventual decay removing the dissolved oxygen from the water; thus hypoxic or anoxic zones can develop. [12]

Implications of eutrophication on estuaries

Effects of eutrophication on biogeochemical cycles

Processes that nitrogen undergo in estuarine systems Table of the Processes in the Nitrogen Cycle.jpg
Processes that nitrogen undergo in estuarine systems

Nitrogen is often the lead cause of eutrophication in estuaries in temperate zones. [13] During a eutrophication event, biogeochemical feedback decreases the amount of available silica. [14] These feedbacks also increase the supply of nitrogen and phosphorus, creating conditions where harmful algal blooms can persist. Given the now off-balance nitrogen cycle, estuaries can be driven to phosphorus limitation instead of nitrogen limitation. Estuaries can be severely impacted by an unbalanced phosphorus cycle, as phosphorus interacts with nitrogen and silica availability.

With an abundance of nutrients in the ecosystem, plants and algae overgrow and eventually decompose, which produce a significant amount of carbon dioxide. [15] While releasing CO2 into the water and atmosphere, these organisms are also intaking all or nearly all of the available oxygen creating a hypoxic environment and unbalanced oxygen cycle. [16] The excess carbon in the form of CO2 can lead to low pH levels and ocean acidification, which is more harmful for vulnerable coastal regions like estuaries.

Effects of eutrophication on estuarine plants

A salt marsh with wood storks wading Wood storks wading in a marsh.jpg
A salt marsh with wood storks wading

Eutrophication has been seen to negatively impact many plant communities in estuarine ecosystems. [17] Salt marshes are a type of ecosystem in some estuaries that have been negatively impacted by eutrophication. [17] Cordgrass vegetation dominates the salt marsh landscape. [18] Excess nutrients allow the plants to grow at greater rates in above ground biomass, however less energy is allocated to the roots since nutrients is abundant. [17] [19] This leads to a lower biomass in the vegetation below ground which destabilizes the banks of the marsh causing increased rates of erosion. [17] A similar phenomenon occurs in mangrove swamps, which are another potential ecosystem in estuaries. [19] [20] An increase in nitrogen causes an increase in shoot growth and a decrease in root growth. [19] Weaker root systems cause a mangrove tree to be less resilient in seasons of drought, which can lead to the death of the mangrove. [19] This shift in above ground and below ground biomass caused by eutrophication could hindered plant success in these ecosystems. [17] [19]

Effects of eutrophication on estuarine animals

Example of a whitefish Whitefish, from the Fish from American Waters series (N8) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands MET DP830737.jpg
Example of a whitefish

Across all biomes, eutrophication often results in plant death but the impacts do not end there. Plant death alters the entire food web structure which can result in the death of animals within the afflicted biome. Estuaries are hotspots for biodiversity, containing a majority of commercial fish catch, making the impacts of eutrophication that much greater within estuaries. [21] Some specific estuarine animals feel the effects of eutrophication more strongly than others. One example is the whitefish species from the European Alps. [22] Eutrophication reduced the oxygen levels in their habitats so greatly that whitefish eggs could not survive, causing local extinctions. [22] However, some animals, such as carnivorous fish, tend to do well in nutrient-enriched environments and can benefit from eutrophication. [23] This can be seen in populations of bass or pikes. [23]

Effects of eutrophication on human activities

Commercial fishing boat Fishing boat at Wrangell Harbor.jpg
Commercial fishing boat

Eutrophication can affect many marine habitats which can lead to economic consequences. The commercial fishing industry relies upon estuaries for approximately 68 percent of their catch by value because of the great biodiversity of this ecosystem. [24] During an algal bloom, fishermen have noticed a significant increase in the quantity of fish. [25] A sudden increase in primary productivity causes spikes in fish populations which leads to more oxygen being utilized. [25] It is the continued deoxygenation of the water that then causes a decline in fish populations. These effects can begin in estuaries and have a wide effect on the surrounding water bodies.  In turn, this can decrease fishing industry sales in one area and across the country. [26] Production in 2016 from recreational and commercial fishing contributes billions of dollars to the United States' gross domestic product (GDP). [24] A decrease in production within this industry can affect any of the 1.7 million people the fishing industry employs yearly across the United States.

Implications for marine life

Estuaries are incredibly dynamic systems, where temperature, salinity, turbidity, depth and flow all change daily in response to the tides. This dynamism makes estuaries highly productive habitats, but also make it difficult for many species to survive year-round. As a result, estuaries large and small experience strong seasonal variation in their fish communities. [27] In winter, the fish community is dominated by hardy marine residents, and in summer a variety of marine and anadromous fishes move into and out of estuaries, capitalizing on their high productivity. [28] Estuaries provide a critical habitat to a variety of species that rely on estuaries for life-cycle completion. Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii) are known to lay their eggs in estuaries and bays, surfperch give birth in estuaries, juvenile flatfish and rockfish migrate to estuaries to rear, and anadromous salmonids and lampreys use estuaries as migration corridors. [29] Also, migratory bird populations, such as the black-tailed godwit, [30] rely on estuaries.

Two of the main challenges of estuarine life are the variability in salinity and sedimentation. Many species of fish and invertebrates have various methods to control or conform to the shifts in salt concentrations and are termed osmoconformers and osmoregulators. Many animals also burrow to avoid predation and to live in a more stable sedimental environment. However, large numbers of bacteria are found within the sediment which has a very high oxygen demand. This reduces the levels of oxygen within the sediment often resulting in partially anoxic conditions, which can be further exacerbated by limited water flow.

Phytoplankton are key primary producers in estuaries. They move with the water bodies and can be flushed in and out with the tides. Their productivity is largely dependent upon the turbidity of the water. The main phytoplankton present are diatoms and dinoflagellates which are abundant in the sediment.

A primary source of food for many organisms on estuaries, including bacteria, is detritus from the settlement of the sedimentation.

Human impact

Of the thirty-two largest cities in the world in the early 1990s, twenty-two were located on estuaries. [31]

As ecosystems, estuaries are under threat from human activities such as pollution and overfishing. They are also threatened by sewage, coastal settlement, land clearance and much more. Estuaries are affected by events far upstream, and concentrate materials such as pollutants and sediments. [32] Land run-off and industrial, agricultural, and domestic waste enter rivers and are discharged into estuaries. Contaminants can be introduced which do not disintegrate rapidly in the marine environment, such as plastics, pesticides, furans, dioxins, phenols and heavy metals.

Such toxins can accumulate in the tissues of many species of aquatic life in a process called bioaccumulation. They also accumulate in benthic environments, such as estuaries and bay muds: a geological record of human activities of the last century. The elemental composition of biofilm reflect areas of the estuary impacted by human activities, and over time may shift the basic composition of the ecosystem, and the reversible or irreversible changes in the abiotic and biotic parts of the systems from the bottom up. [33]

For example, Chinese and Russian industrial pollution, such as phenols and heavy metals, has devastated fish stocks in the Amur River and damaged its estuary soil. [34]

Estuaries tend to be naturally eutrophic because land runoff discharges nutrients into estuaries. With human activities, land run-off also now includes the many chemicals used as fertilizers in agriculture as well as waste from livestock and humans. Excess oxygen-depleting chemicals in the water can lead to hypoxia and the creation of dead zones. [35] This can result in reductions in water quality, fish, and other animal populations. Overfishing also occurs. Chesapeake Bay once had a flourishing oyster population that has been almost wiped out by overfishing. Oysters filter these pollutants, and either eat them or shape them into small packets that are deposited on the bottom where they are harmless. Historically the oysters filtered the estuary's entire water volume of excess nutrients every three or four days. Today that process takes almost a year, [36] and sediment, nutrients, and algae can cause problems in local waters.

Some major rivers that run through deserts historically had vast, expansive estuaries that have been reduced to a fraction of their former size, because of dams and diversions. One example is the Colorado River Delta in Mexico, historically covered with marshlands and forests, but now essentially a salt flat.

Examples

Africa

Asia

Europe

North America

Oceania

South America

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brackish water</span> Water with salinity between freshwater and seawater

Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater and fresh water together, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root brak. Certain human activities can produce brackish water, in particular civil engineering projects such as dikes and the flooding of coastal marshland to produce brackish water pools for freshwater prawn farming. Brackish water is also the primary waste product of the salinity gradient power process. Because brackish water is hostile to the growth of most terrestrial plant species, without appropriate management it can be damaging to the environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coast</span> Area where land meets the sea or ocean

A coast – also called the coastline, shoreline, or seashore – is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape, as well as by water induced erosion, such as waves. The geological composition of rock and soil dictates the type of shore that is created. Earth contains roughly 620,000 km (390,000 mi) of coastline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eutrophication</span> Phenomenon where nutrients accumulate in water bodies

Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of microorganisms that may deplete the oxygen of water. Eutrophication may occur naturally or as a result of human actions. Manmade, or cultural, eutrophication occurs when sewage, industrial wastewater, fertilizer runoff, and other nutrient sources are released into the environment. Such nutrient pollution usually causes algal blooms and bacterial growth, resulting in the depletion of dissolved oxygen in water and causing substantial environmental degradation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lagoon</span> Shallow body of water separated from a larger one by a narrow landform

A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into coastal lagoons and atoll lagoons. They have also been identified as occurring on mixed-sand and gravel coastlines. There is an overlap between bodies of water classified as coastal lagoons and bodies of water classified as estuaries. Lagoons are common coastal features around many parts of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsh</span> Low-lying and seasonally waterlogged land

In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants. More in general, the word can be used for any low-lying and seasonally waterlogged terrain. In Europe and in agricultural literature low-lying meadows that require draining and embanked polderlands are also referred to as marshes or marshland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salt marsh</span> Coastal ecosystem between land and open saltwater that is regularly flooded

A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated by dense stands of salt-tolerant plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh in trapping and binding sediments. Salt marshes play a large role in the aquatic food web and the delivery of nutrients to coastal waters. They also support terrestrial animals and provide coastal protection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coos Bay</span> Estuary in Oregon, United States

Coos Bay is an estuary where the Coos River enters the Pacific Ocean, the estuary is approximately 12 miles long and up to two miles wide. It is the largest estuary completely within Oregon state lines. The Coos Bay watershed covers an area of about 600 square miles and is located in northern Coos County, Oregon, in the United States. The Coos River, which begins in the Oregon Coast Range, enters the bay from the east. From Coos River, the bay forms a sharp loop northward before arching back to the south and out to the Pacific Ocean. Haynes Inlet enters the top of this loop. South Slough branches off from the bay directly before its entrance into the Pacific Ocean. The bay was formed when sea levels rose over 20,000 years ago at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, flooding the mouth of the Coos River. Coos Bay is Oregon's most important coastal industrial center and international shipping port, with close ties to San Francisco, the Columbia River, Puget Sound and other major ports of the Pacific rim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tidal marsh</span> Marsh subject to tidal change in water

A tidal marsh is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. Tidal marshes experience many overlapping persistent cycles, including diurnal and semi-diurnal tides, day-night temperature fluctuations, spring-neap tides, seasonal vegetation growth and decay, upland runoff, decadal climate variations, and centennial to millennial trends in sea level and climate.

An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem found in and around a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms—aquatic life—that are dependent on each other and on their environment. The two main types of aquatic ecosystems are marine ecosystems and freshwater ecosystems. Freshwater ecosystems may be lentic ; lotic ; and wetlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mangrove forest</span> Productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones

Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangrove trees cannot withstand freezing temperatures. There are about 80 different species of mangroves, all of which grow in areas with low-oxygen soil, where slow-moving waters allow fine sediments to accumulate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaquina Bay</span> Small bay partially within Newport, Oregon, United States

Yaquina Bay is a coastal estuarine community found in Newport, Oregon. Yaquina Bay is a semi-enclosed body of water, approximately 8 km2 (3.2 mi2) in area, with free connection to the Pacific Ocean, but also diluted with freshwater from the Yaquina River land drainage. The Bay is traversed by the Yaquina Bay Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine ecosystem</span> Ecosystem in saltwater environment

Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the surface of the Earth and account for more than 97% of Earth's water supply and 90% of habitable space on Earth. Seawater has an average salinity of 35 parts per thousand of water. Actual salinity varies among different marine ecosystems. Marine ecosystems can be divided into many zones depending upon water depth and shoreline features. The oceanic zone is the vast open part of the ocean where animals such as whales, sharks, and tuna live. The benthic zone consists of substrates below water where many invertebrates live. The intertidal zone is the area between high and low tides. Other near-shore (neritic) zones can include mudflats, seagrass meadows, mangroves, rocky intertidal systems, salt marshes, coral reefs, lagoons. In the deep water, hydrothermal vents may occur where chemosynthetic sulfur bacteria form the base of the food web.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brackish marsh</span> Marsh with brackish level of salinity

Brackish marshes develop from salt marshes where a significant freshwater influx dilutes the seawater to brackish levels of salinity. This commonly happens upstream from salt marshes by estuaries of coastal rivers or near the mouths of coastal rivers with heavy freshwater discharges in the conditions of low tidal ranges.

Estuarine water circulation is controlled by the inflow of rivers, the tides, rainfall and evaporation, the wind, and other oceanic events such as an upwelling, an eddy, and storms. Estuarine water circulation patterns are influenced by vertical mixing and stratification, and can affect residence time and exposure time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine habitat</span> Habitat that supports marine life

A marine habitat is a habitat that supports marine life. Marine life depends in some way on the saltwater that is in the sea. A habitat is an ecological or environmental area inhabited by one or more living species. The marine environment supports many kinds of these habitats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tidal barrage</span> Dam-like structure

A tidal barrage is a dam-like structure used to capture the energy from masses of water moving in and out of a bay or river due to tidal forces.

In oceanography, a front is a boundary between two distinct water masses. The formation of fronts depends on multiple physical processes and small differences in these lead to a wide range of front types. They can be as narrow as a few hundreds of metres and as wide as several tens of kilometres. While most fronts form and dissipate relatively quickly, some can persist for long periods of time.

Estuary freshwater inflow is the freshwater that flows into an estuary. Other types of environmental flows include instream flow, the freshwater water flowing in rivers or streams, and estuary outflow, the outflow from an estuary to the ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benthic-pelagic coupling</span> Processes that connect the benthic and pelagic zones of a body of water

Benthic-pelagic coupling are processes that connect the benthic zone and the pelagic zone through the exchange of energy, mass, or nutrients. These processes play a prominent role in both freshwater and marine ecosystems and are influenced by a number of chemical, biological, and physical forces that are crucial to functions from nutrient cycling to energy transfer in food webs.

An anchialine system is a landlocked body of water with a subterranean connection to the ocean. Depending on its formation, these systems can exist in one of two primary forms: pools or caves. The primary differentiating characteristics between pools and caves is the availability of light; cave systems are generally aphotic while pools are euphotic. The difference in light availability has a large influence on the biology of a given system. Anchialine systems are a feature of coastal aquifers which are density stratified, with water near the surface being fresh or brackish, and saline water intruding from the coast at depth. Depending on the site, it is sometimes possible to access the deeper saline water directly in the anchialine pool, or sometimes it may be accessible by cave diving.

References

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