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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]
Freshwater ecosystem. Freshwater ecosystems are a subset of Earth's aquatic ecosystems that include the biological communities inhabiting freshwater waterbodies such as lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, springs, bogs, and wetlands. [1] They can be contrasted with marine ecosystems, which have a much higher salinity. Freshwater habitats can be ...
Freshwater ecosystem Freshwater ecosystems are a subset of Earth's aquatic ecosystems that include the biological communities inhabiting freshwater waterbodies such as lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, springs, bogs, and wetlands. [8] They can be contrasted with marine ecosystems, which have a much higher salinity. Freshwater habitats can be ...
Limnology (/ l ɪ m ˈ n ɒ l ə dʒ i / lim-NOL-ə-jee; from Ancient Greek λίμνη (límnē) 'lake' and -λογία 'study of') is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. [1] The study of limnology includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristics of fresh and saline, natural and man-made bodies of water.
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, [1] [2] 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 (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root brak.
Other types of estuaries also exist and have similar characteristics as traditional brackish estuaries. The Great Lakes are a prime example. There, river water mixes with lake water and creates freshwater estuaries. [16] Estuaries are extremely productive ecosystems that many humans and animal species rely on for various activities. [17]
A classic estuary has the following components: 1) freshwater inflow with a discharge Q f and a salinity S f (generally S f = 0); 2) oceanic inflow with a discharge Q in and salinity S 0; and 3) outflow to the ocean with a discharge of Q out and a salinity S 1. The inflow and outflow of water is equal because mass is conserved.
The largest lake by surface area is Caspian Sea, which is despite its name considered as a lake from the point of view of geography. [79] Its surface area is 143,000 sq. mi./371,000 km 2. The second largest lake by surface area, and the largest freshwater lake by surface area, is Lake Michigan-Huron, which is