
Estuarine Ecohydrology
An Introduction
Description
Key Features
- Provides a sound knowledge of the physical functioning of an estuary, a critical component of understanding its ecological functioning
- Ideal reference for those interested in marine biology, oceanography, coastal management, and sustainable development
- Describes the essentials behind conceptual and numerical models of the health of an estuary ecosystem and how to use these models to quantify both human impacts and the value of remediation and management measures
- Chapters are written in an accessible way that encourages collaboration between aquatic, marine, and wetland biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, geologists, geomorphologists, chemists, and ecosystem modelers
- Covers the physical, chemical, and biological elements of estuary environments, indicating that the essence of an estuary’s functioning lies in its connectivity with the adjacent catchment and the marine/coastal system
Readership
Table of Contents
- Dedication
- About the Authors
- Preface to the 2nd Edition
- 1: Introduction
- Publisher Summary
- 1.1 What is an estuary?
- 1.2 Humanity and estuaries
- 1.3 Ecohydrology as the solution
- 1.4 Ecohydrological science: The structure of this book
- 2: Estuarine water circulation
- Publisher Summary
- 2.1 The tides at sea
- 2.2 The residence time of water
- 2.3 The age of water
- 2.4 Exposure time versus residence time
- 2.5 Stratification
- 2.6 Lateral stratification, trapping, and streakiness
- 2.7 The importance of the bathymetry on currents
- 2.8 The importance of coastal currents and waves for estuarine flushing
- 2.9 The importance of storms on the estuarine circulation
- 2.10 The special case of lagoons
- 2.11 The influence of the Earth rotation
- 2.12 Ship waves
- 3: Estuarine sediment dynamics
- Publisher Summary
- 3.1 Geomorphological time scales
- 3.2 Sediment properties and dynamics
- 3.3 Stability of the banks
- 3.4 Tidal pumping
- 3.5 Some engineering implications
- 3.6 Biological implications of the export of estuarine mud to coastal waters
- 3.7 Net sediment budgets
- 3.8 The size of the mouth
- 3.9 Mud and human health
- 4: Tidal wetlands
- Publisher Summary
- 4.1 Description
- 4.2 Hydrodynamics
- 4.3 Wave attenuation by wetland vegetation
- 4.4 Ecological processes within a tidal wetland
- 4.5 Enhancement of estuarine fisheries
- 4.6 Groundwater flow
- 4.7 Wetlands as bioengineers
- 5: Estuarine ecological structure and functioning
- Publisher Summary
- 5.1 Simple food webs
- 5.2 The key role of detritus
- 5.3 The role of groundwater
- 5.4 Estuarine connectivity
- 5.5 Stressed ecosystems
- 5.6 Estuarine water quality barriers
- 5.7 The role of estuaries for fishes and their recruitment to estuaries
- 5.8 The role of birds in estuarine ecohydrology
- 5.9 The ecology of tideless estuaries, lagoons and ICOLLS
- 6: Ecohydrology models
- Publisher Summary
- 6.1 Introduction: Finding a balance between simplicity, complexity and realism
- 6.2 Engineering models
- 6.3 Ecosystem models
- 7: Ecohydrology solutions
- Publisher Summary
- 7.1 Ecohydrology as a response to natural and anthropogenic problems
- 7.2 Freshwater supply to estuaries: Environmental flows, the essence of ecohydrology
- 7.3 Estuarine and coastal restoration
- 7.4 Managing human health threats
- 7.5 Habitat creation/restoration
- 7.6 Protection against natural hazards
- 7.7 Biodiversity offsetting: Ecohydrology in practice
- 7.8 Main lessons in ecohydrology and ecosystem engineering
- 7.9 What future for estuaries and coastal waters?
- References
- Index
Product details
- No. of pages: 322
- Language: English
- Copyright: © Elsevier Science 2015
- Published: August 19, 2015
- Imprint: Elsevier Science
- Hardcover ISBN: 9780444633989
- eBook ISBN: 9780444634146
About the Authors
Eric Wolanski

Eric is a member of the editorial board of Journal of Coastal Research, Journal of Marine Systems, Ecohydrology and Hydrobiology, and Continental Shelf Research. He is a member of the Scientific and Policy Committee of the Japan-based International Center for Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas, a Visiting Professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a member of the College of Experts of the Australian Research Council.
Affiliations and Expertise
Michael Elliott
Mike has acted as an advisor on many marine and estuarine environmental matters for academia, industry, government, and statutory bodies in Europe and elsewhere. Mike is a past-president of the international Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association (ECSA) and is also one of the four editors-in-chief of the international journal Estuarine, Coastal & Shelf Science and on the editorial board of Marine Pollution Bulletin. He is the Sir Walter Murdoch Distinguished Adjunct Professor, Murdoch University, Australia, and also has adjunct professor and research positions at Klaipeda University (Lithuania), the University of Palermo (Italy), and the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Grahamstown. From 2014, he was appointed an independent non-executive member of the UK Marine Science Coordinating Committee and member of the Science Advisory Board of Marine Scotland. In 2014, Mike was awarded the Laureate of the Honorary Winberg Medal of the Russian Hydrobiological Academic Society.