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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]
This is typically found where rivers meet the ocean or sea. The wildlife found within estuaries is unique as the water in these areas is brackish - a mix of freshwater flowing to the ocean and salty seawater. [16] Other types of estuaries also exist and have similar characteristics as traditional brackish estuaries. The Great Lakes are a prime ...
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.
From shallow waters to the deep sea, the open ocean to rivers and lakes, numerous terrestrial and marine species depend on the surface ecosystem and the organisms found there. [28] The ocean's surface acts like a skin between the atmosphere above and the water below, and harbours an ecosystem unique to this environment.
Bacteria inhabit soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, [63] and the deep portions of Earth's crust. Bacteria also live in symbiotic and parasitic relationships with plants and animals. Once regarded as plants constituting the class Schizomycetes, bacteria are now classified as prokaryotes.
The tidal influences and shallow water of estuaries mean that estuarine organisms experience wide variations in temperature, salinity and other aspects of water chemistry; these fluctuations make the estuarine habitat ideal for studies on the influence of changing physical and chemical conditions on processes such as shell deposition. Changing ...
In terms of biodiversity, a brackish marsh serves a unique ecological niche. [8] Its vegetation is a byproduct of its salinity levels. High salinity serves as an evolutionary barrier for most plants, creating a less diverse number of plant species as an ecosystem moves from fresh to saltwater.
Model of Estuary. The residence time of water is a key variable determining the health of an estuary, particularly from human-induced stresses.Rapid flushing ensures that there is insufficient time for sediment accumulation or dissolved oxygen depletion in the estuary; thus a well flushed estuary is intrinsically more robust than a poorly flushed estuary. [1]