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An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. [1] Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone.
Other types of estuaries also exist and have similar characteristics as traditional brackish estuaries. The Great Lakes are a prime example. There, river water mixes with lake water and creates freshwater estuaries. [16] Estuaries are extremely productive ecosystems that many humans and animal species rely on for various activities. [17]
Other types of estuaries also exist and have similar characteristics as traditional brackish estuaries. The Great Lakes are a prime example. There, river water mixes with lake water and creates freshwater estuaries. [20] Estuaries are extremely productive ecosystems that many humans and animal species rely on for various activities. [21]
For example, tidal currents are strong at constrictions like at the mouth of bar-built estuaries; estuaries or bays with wide mouths allow propagation of ocean waves; and, the existence of a large enough wind fetch within an estuary or bay allows the development of locally-generated wind waves. However, BEBs primarily exist in fetch-limited ...
The Chesapeake Bay (/ ˈ tʃ ɛ s ə p iː k / CHESS-ə-peek) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and the state of Delaware.
More than half of England’s estuaries are at risk of seeing habitats squeezed between rising seas and man-made barriers on land. Important estuary habitats being ‘squeezed out’ by climate ...
Estuaries provide habitats for a large number of organisms and support very high productivity. Estuaries provide habitats for salmon and sea trout nurseries, [43] as well as migratory bird populations. [44] Two of the main characteristics of estuarine life are the variability in salinity and sedimentation.
A bay can be the estuary of a river, such as the Chesapeake Bay, an estuary of the Susquehanna River. [2] Bays may also be nested within each other; for example, James Bay is an arm of Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada. Some large bays, such as the Bay of Bengal and Hudson Bay, have varied marine geology. [citation needed]