Estuarine Ecohydrology

Estuarine Ecohydrology, Second Edition, provides an ecohydrology viewpoint of an estuary as an ecosystem by focusing on its principal components: the river, the estuarine waters, the sediment, the nutrients, the wetlands, the oceanic influence, and the aquatic food web as well as models of the health of an estuary ecosystem. Estuaries, the intersection of freshwater and coastal ecosystems, exhibit complex physical and biological processes, which must be understood in order to sustain and restore them when necessary. Only after understanding an estuary as an ecosystem can the scientist confidently propose ecohydrology solutions for managing an estuary in an ecologically sustainable manner. This process leads to solutions beyond the purely technical. Estuarine Ecohydrology, Second Edition, demonstrates how, based on an understanding of the processes controlling estuarine ecosystem health, one can quantify its ability to cope with human stresses. The theories, models, and real-world solutions presented will serve as a toolkit for designing a management plan for the ecologically sustainable development of an estuary. * Provides a sound knowledge of the physical functioning of an estuary in order to understand its ecological functioning* 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