Preface
The original idea of this book started when we were making a residual fluxes study of
the Paranagua Coastal Lagoon (Brazil) near the colonial town of Guaraque~aba.Among
the beautiful mangroves of this Brazilian National Park, between profile and profile,
we wondered why South American estuaries were little known in the international
arena. Besides, most of the papers published in the literature are based on biological
research. Practically nothing is known about their geomorphology and dynamics.
That night, while we were walking along the hilly streets of the town, we decided
that the only way to have an idea about the degree of advance in the geomorphology
and dynamics of our estuaries was to ask the proper South American researchers to
write review articles about the estuaries in which they were working or about the general state of the art of the Geomorphology and Physical Oceanography of the estuaries of his/her country. The book grew from then on. Although initially many scientists offer to write a chapter, we ran into the same problem these researchers have to
publish in journals, they felt that their English was not good enough and withdrew.
However, we are very satisfy about the number and quality of the contributions which
also passed a very strong review process.
In this regard, we would like to express our most sincere thanks to those researchers that have devoted their time not only to check the validity of the science but also
to willingly improve the English of the papers when it was necessary. They are listed here
in alphabetic order: Diana G. Cuadrado, John W. Day, Georges Drapeau, V.N. de Jonge,
S. Susana Ginsberg, Eduardo A. Gomez, Iris Grabermman, Federico I. Isla, Guillherme
Lessa, Charles Nittrouer, Ned P. Smith, Stephen V. Smith, J. van de Kreeke, John T. Wells.
All of them contributed profoundly, providing new insights and criteria that increased
the value of each contribution.
We would also like to thank Springer-Verlag for its support, but specially to
Mrs. Andrea Weber-Knapp, who worked hard in trying to make the idea of a book a
concrete reality, thanks to her support we finally went through the experience. A very
particular thanks goes to Dr. Wim Salomons, Environmental Series Editor, who accepted the idea right from the beginning and encouraged us to pursue in our enterprise.
Mario Pino-Quivira
Valdivia, Chile
June, 1999
Gerardo M.E. Perillo . M. Cintia Piccolo
Bahia Blanca, Argentina
The original idea of this book started when we were making a residual fluxes study of
the Paranagua Coastal Lagoon (Brazil) near the colonial town of Guaraque~aba.Among
the beautiful mangroves of this Brazilian National Park, between profile and profile,
we wondered why South American estuaries were little known in the international
arena. Besides, most of the papers published in the literature are based on biological
research. Practically nothing is known about their geomorphology and dynamics.
That night, while we were walking along the hilly streets of the town, we decided
that the only way to have an idea about the degree of advance in the geomorphology
and dynamics of our estuaries was to ask the proper South American researchers to
write review articles about the estuaries in which they were working or about the general state of the art of the Geomorphology and Physical Oceanography of the estuaries of his/her country. The book grew from then on. Although initially many scientists offer to write a chapter, we ran into the same problem these researchers have to
publish in journals, they felt that their English was not good enough and withdrew.
However, we are very satisfy about the number and quality of the contributions which
also passed a very strong review process.
In this regard, we would like to express our most sincere thanks to those researchers that have devoted their time not only to check the validity of the science but also
to willingly improve the English of the papers when it was necessary. They are listed here
in alphabetic order: Diana G. Cuadrado, John W. Day, Georges Drapeau, V.N. de Jonge,
S. Susana Ginsberg, Eduardo A. Gomez, Iris Grabermman, Federico I. Isla, Guillherme
Lessa, Charles Nittrouer, Ned P. Smith, Stephen V. Smith, J. van de Kreeke, John T. Wells.
All of them contributed profoundly, providing new insights and criteria that increased
the value of each contribution.
We would also like to thank Springer-Verlag for its support, but specially to
Mrs. Andrea Weber-Knapp, who worked hard in trying to make the idea of a book a
concrete reality, thanks to her support we finally went through the experience. A very
particular thanks goes to Dr. Wim Salomons, Environmental Series Editor, who accepted the idea right from the beginning and encouraged us to pursue in our enterprise.
Mario Pino-Quivira
Valdivia, Chile
June, 1999
Gerardo M.E. Perillo . M. Cintia Piccolo
Bahia Blanca, Argentina