Preface
Estuaries are coastal environments with exceptional ecological, recreational, and commercial value. Their diverse
habitats provide vital nursery, feeding, and refuge areas
for numerous estuarine, marine, and terrestrial organisms.
The rich food supply in estuaries supports a multitude of
aquatic plant and animal communities. Many marine species of recreational and commercial importance utilize
estuaries during at least part of their life history, and therefore these coastal ecosystems play a significant role in the
production of marine fisheries. Adjoining wetland habitats
are particularly important in the life cycles of fish, shellfish, migratory birds, and other wildlife.
Aside from fisheries, businesses and industries depend
on estuaries for successful operation. Most notable in
this regard are businesses and industries involving aquaculture, electric power generation, oil and gas recovery,
marine biotechnology, tourism, transportation, and shipping. Together, these operations inject hundreds of
billions of dollars into the world economy each year. They
also employ millions of people worldwide.
Within the land-river-coastal-shelf continuum, estuaries serve a number of critical functions involving the filtering of contaminants, transformation of nutrients, and the
biogeochemical cycling of substances. Consequently, they
strongly influence the environmental quality of coastal
waters. Estuaries also protect coastal watersheds, buffering infrastructure from the damaging effects of storms,
floods, waves, and erosion. Because billions of people
inhabit coastal areas, these buffering effects are extremely
important for the sustainability of coastal communities.
Estuaries and adjoining coastal areas are more vulnerable
than ever to climate change effects, notably major storms
and storm surges, sea-level rise, inundation and flooding,
and other hazardous conditions.
Estuaries rank among the most heavily impacted
aquatic ecosystems on earth, being affected by a wide
range of anthropogenic activities both in adjoining coastal
watersheds and on the water bodies themselves. Most of
these activities can be linked to rapid population growth
and overdevelopment of the coastal zone. While anthropogenic stressors have received the greatest attention of estuarine and marine scientists, some natural stochastic events
(e.g., earthquakes, major storms, severe winds, and
upwelling) also cause environmental perturbations that
can have profound consequences. However, some natural
events often occur less frequently than many anthropogenic stressors that affect estuarine environments persistently over more protracted time periods. In addition,
multiple anthropogenic disturbances create both acute
and insidious problems for many estuarine biotic communities and habitats. Major anthropogenic impacts on estuaries that can pose a threat to their ecological integrity and
long-term viability include habitat loss and alteration,
eutrophication, sewage, overfishing, chemical contaminants, human-altered hydrological regimes, introduced/
invasive species, sea-level rise, subsidence, and
floatables/debris. These impacts, together with the other
subject areas discussed above, are addressed in the Encyclopedia of Estuaries.
The Encyclopedia of Estuaries is a volume in
Springer’s Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. It provides thorough and authoritative coverage of the physical,
chemical, and biological characteristics of estuaries. As
such, it is a major reference work for estuarine and marine
scientists, educators, and students. Highly respected
authors from around the world have contributed to the
encyclopedia on such diverse subjects as biotic
Estuaries are coastal environments with exceptional ecological, recreational, and commercial value. Their diverse
habitats provide vital nursery, feeding, and refuge areas
for numerous estuarine, marine, and terrestrial organisms.
The rich food supply in estuaries supports a multitude of
aquatic plant and animal communities. Many marine species of recreational and commercial importance utilize
estuaries during at least part of their life history, and therefore these coastal ecosystems play a significant role in the
production of marine fisheries. Adjoining wetland habitats
are particularly important in the life cycles of fish, shellfish, migratory birds, and other wildlife.
Aside from fisheries, businesses and industries depend
on estuaries for successful operation. Most notable in
this regard are businesses and industries involving aquaculture, electric power generation, oil and gas recovery,
marine biotechnology, tourism, transportation, and shipping. Together, these operations inject hundreds of
billions of dollars into the world economy each year. They
also employ millions of people worldwide.
Within the land-river-coastal-shelf continuum, estuaries serve a number of critical functions involving the filtering of contaminants, transformation of nutrients, and the
biogeochemical cycling of substances. Consequently, they
strongly influence the environmental quality of coastal
waters. Estuaries also protect coastal watersheds, buffering infrastructure from the damaging effects of storms,
floods, waves, and erosion. Because billions of people
inhabit coastal areas, these buffering effects are extremely
important for the sustainability of coastal communities.
Estuaries and adjoining coastal areas are more vulnerable
than ever to climate change effects, notably major storms
and storm surges, sea-level rise, inundation and flooding,
and other hazardous conditions.
Estuaries rank among the most heavily impacted
aquatic ecosystems on earth, being affected by a wide
range of anthropogenic activities both in adjoining coastal
watersheds and on the water bodies themselves. Most of
these activities can be linked to rapid population growth
and overdevelopment of the coastal zone. While anthropogenic stressors have received the greatest attention of estuarine and marine scientists, some natural stochastic events
(e.g., earthquakes, major storms, severe winds, and
upwelling) also cause environmental perturbations that
can have profound consequences. However, some natural
events often occur less frequently than many anthropogenic stressors that affect estuarine environments persistently over more protracted time periods. In addition,
multiple anthropogenic disturbances create both acute
and insidious problems for many estuarine biotic communities and habitats. Major anthropogenic impacts on estuaries that can pose a threat to their ecological integrity and
long-term viability include habitat loss and alteration,
eutrophication, sewage, overfishing, chemical contaminants, human-altered hydrological regimes, introduced/
invasive species, sea-level rise, subsidence, and
floatables/debris. These impacts, together with the other
subject areas discussed above, are addressed in the Encyclopedia of Estuaries.
The Encyclopedia of Estuaries is a volume in
Springer’s Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. It provides thorough and authoritative coverage of the physical,
chemical, and biological characteristics of estuaries. As
such, it is a major reference work for estuarine and marine
scientists, educators, and students. Highly respected
authors from around the world have contributed to the
encyclopedia on such diverse subjects as biotic