Estuarine Processes

Catalog description

Estuaries, where rivers meet the ocean, are among the most productive and dynamic systems on earth, and they are valued for recreation, habitat, and navigation. They are often located in areas with large populations, frequently resulting in intense competition for resources. This class will be taught to convey basic concepts that are important in estuary dynamics. It will include an introduction to estuarine ecology, descriptions of the generation of tides, tie wave propagation within the estuary, the role of salinity and density currents, estuarine sedimentation and an overview of navigation concerns. An emphasis will be placed on understanding the relationships between ecological and physical systems. The class will provide an understanding of ecosystem impacts as a result of physical changes in the estuary. Numerical models are the standard approach for investigating estuary behavior and will be used as a construct to understand estuaries, but prior knowledge of modeling is not required.