Estuarine Ecohydrology

Estuarine Ecohydrology focuses on the principal components of an estuary. The book demonstrates how one can quantify an estuarine ecosystem's ability to cope with human stresses. The theories, models, and real-world solutions covered will serve as a toolkit for designing a management plan for the ecologically sustainable development of an estuary.

This book is organized into seven chapters dealing with topics such as estuarine water circulation; estuarine sediment dynamics; tidal wetlands; estuarine food webs; and ecohydrology models and solutions. Although each chapter contains rigorous specialist knowledge, it is presented in an accessible way that encourages multi-disciplinary collaboration between such fields as hydrology, ecology and mathematical modeling.

Estuarine Ecohydrology is appropriate for use as a textbook and as a reference for researchers; advanced undergraduate and graduate students in marine biology, oceanography, coastal management, and coastal engineering; coastal developers; resources managers, shipping operators; and those involved in estuarine fisheries and sustainable development communities.

• Appropriate for use as a textbook and as a reference
• Focuses on the principal components of an estuary
• Presents theories, models, and real-world solutions to serve as a toolkit for designing a management plan for the ecologically sustainable development of an estuary

Researchers and advanced undergraduate and graduate students in marine biology, oceanography, coastal management, and coastal engineering, as well as estuarine fisheries, coastal developers, resources managers, sustainable development communities, and shipping operators.

1. Introduction
1.1. What is an estuary?
1.2. Humanity and estuaries
1.2.1. Sedimentation from sediment eroded from cleared land in the hinterland
1.2.2. Overfishing and trawling
1.2.3. Destruction of wetlands
1.2.4. Eutrophication
1.2.5. Pollution
1.2.6. Dams.
1.2.7. Dykes for flood protection.
1.2.8. Human health risks.
1.3. The future of estuaries and the quality of life of the human population living on its shores
1.4. The solution
1.5. Ecohydrology science: the structure of this book.
2. Estuarine water circulation
2.1. The average residence time
2.2. The age of water
2.3. Exposure time vs. residence time
2.4. Vertical mixing and stratification
2.5. Lateral stratification, trapping, and shear
2.6. The importance of the bathymetry on flushing
2.7. The importance of flows near the river mouth on flushing
2.8 The special case of lagoons
3. Estuarine sediment dynamics
3.1. Geomorphological time scales
3.2. Sediment dynamics
3.2.1. The distinction between mud, silt and sand
3.2.2. Sand dynamics
3.2.3. Mud dynamics
3.2.4. Engineering implications
3.2.5. Biological implications
3.3. Net sediment budgets
3.3.1. The age of estuaries
3.3.2. Net erosion or progradation
3.3.3. Formation of mud flats
3.3.4. Formation of tidal wetlands by the vegetation colonizing bare intertidal areas
3.4. The size of the mouth
4. Tidal wetlands
4.1. Description
4.2. Hydrodynamics
4.3. Wave attenuation by wetland vegetation
4.4. Ecological processes within a tidal wetland
4.4.1. Mangroves
4.4.2. Saltmarshes
4.4.3. Supratidal mud flats
4.5. Enhancement of estuarine fisheries productivity by ouwelling from tidal wetlands
4.6. Groundwater
4.6.1. Mangroves
4.6.2. Saltmarshes
4.7. Physics-biology links
5. Estuarine food webs
5.1. Simple food webs in clear waters
5.1.1. Definitions
5.1.2. Clear waters
5.2. The key role of detritus
5.3. The role of groundwater
5.4. Link to pelagic food web (fisheries)
5.5. Estuarine ecology
5.6. Over-stressed ecosystems
5.7. Seagrass and coral reefs
6. Ecohydrology models
6.1. Engineering models
6.2. Ecosystem models
6.2.1. Predator-prey relationship
6.2.2. Estuarine ecosystem models
6.2.3. An estuarine ecohydrology model
6.3. Coral reef ecohydrology model
7. Ecohydrology solutions
7.1. Freshwater
7.2. Estuaries
7.3. Coastal waters
7.4. Managing human health threats
7.5. Habitat creation
7.5.1. Saltmarshes
7.5.2. Mangroves
7.5.3. Seagrass
7.5.4. Coral reefs
7.5.5. Sediment capping
7.6. Protection against natural hazards
7.7. A future for estuaries and coastal waters?
8. References
9. Index