Estuary
Transitional coastal ecosystems where freshwater meets saltwater.
Last updated
A brackish, partially enclosed coastal water body forms where rivers or streams deliver freshwater that blends with oceanic saltwater.[1]
Quick Facts
- Field
- Coastal geography and ecology
- Known for
- Transition zones between riverine and marine environments, among the most productive natural habitats
- Classification criteria
- Salinity distribution
- geomorphology
- water circulation and vertical stratification
- system energetics
- Common names
- Bays
- harbors
- lagoons
- inlets
- sounds
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
The word "estuary" is derived from the Latin word aestuarium meaning tidal inlet of the sea.[1] Eutrophication may lead to excessive nutrients from nitrogen run off, sewage, and animal wastes.[2] The Holocene epoch, beginning roughly 10,000–12,000 years ago with rising sea levels, marks the origin of most current estuaries.[3] Pritchard's widely accepted definition characterizes an estuary as "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]
Fjords, lagoons, river mouths, and tidal creeks are included under a broader definition of estuaries.[3] Pollution and overfishing are human activities that threaten estuarine ecosystems.[4]
What the cited sources add
The US EPA states that water draining from uplands carries sediments, nutrients, and other pollutants to estuaries.[5] The US EPA notes that salt marsh grasses and other estuarine plants help prevent erosion and stabilize shorelines.[5] The US EPA emphasizes that what happens on the land affects the quality of the water and health of the organisms that live in an estuary.[5] The Kunneke report notes that water depths in drowned river valley estuaries rarely exceed 30 m.[6]
The Kunneke report lists the Hudson River, Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Galveston Bay, and Tampa Bay as examples of drowned river valley estuaries in the U.S..[6] According to the Kunneke report, drowned river valley estuaries typically exhibit a large width-to-depth ratio and a wedge-shaped cross-section.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Estuary" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pritchard, "Estuaries", 1967, p. 3–5 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Estuary" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wolanski, "Estuarine Ecohydrology", Elsevier, 2007; Silva, "Can navigation locks be used to help migratory fishes with poor swimming performance pass tidal barrages? A test with lampreys", Ecological Engineering, 2017, p. 291–302 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Estuary" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wolanski, "Estuarine Ecohydrology", Elsevier, 2007 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Estuary" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Branch, "Estuarine vulnerability and ecological impacts", Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 1999, p. 499 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- US EPA, "Basic Information about Estuaries", www.epa.gov, 2015-08-26. facts only, no text reused. epa.gov
- Wikipedia, "Estuary" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kunneke, "Tampa Bay environmental atlas", U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep., 1984, p. 3 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Estuary (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
Also in the Codexery
More in Coastal And Fluvial Geomorphology
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Estuary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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