Information AboutEstuary |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ESTUARY | |
| estuaries | |
| bodies of water | |
| geodesy | |
| water | |
| coastal geography | |
|
estuary]] An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more River s or Stream s flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open Sea .Pritchard, D. W. (1967) ''What is an estuary: physical viewpoint''. p. 3–5 ''in:'' G. H. Lauf (ed.) ''Estuaries'', A.A.A.S. Publ. No. 83, Washington, D.C. Estuaries are often associated with high rates of biological productivity.An estuary is where the river meets the sea. An estuary is typically the tidal mouth of a River (''aestus'' is Latin for tide), and estuaries are often characterized by Sedimentation or Silt carried in from terrestrial runoff and, frequently, from offshore. They are made up of Brackish Water . Estuaries are more likely to occur on Submerged Coasts , where the sea level has risen in relation to the land; this process floods Valley s to form Ria s and Fjord s. These can become estuaries if there is a stream or river flowing into them. Large estuaries, like Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound often have many streams flowing into them and can have complex shapes. Estuaries are often given names like Bay , Sound , Fjord , etc. The terms are not mutually exclusive. Where an enormous volume of river water enters the sea (as, for example, from the Amazon into the South Atlantic) its estuary could be considered to extend well beyond the coast. ''Estuarine circulation'' is common in estuaries; this occurs when fresh or brackish water flows out near the surface, while denser saline water flows inward near the bottom. ''Anti-estuarine'' flow is its opposite, in which dense water flows out near the bottom and less dense water circulates inward at the surface. These two terms, however, have a broader Oceanographic application that extends beyond estuaries proper, such as in describing the circulation of nearly-closed ocean basins. Estuaries are marine environments, whose PH , Salinity , and water level are varying, depending on the river that feeds the estuary and the ocean from which it derives its salinity (oceans and seas have different salinity levels). CLASSES OF ESTUARY Grouped by circulation, there are several types of estuary:
Grouped by structure rather than circulation, there are other types of estuaries. ''Bar-built estuaries'' are effectively synonymous with 2006 . SEE ALSO REFERENCES |
|
|