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s Clas si
Estuari e i n g
M i x
i g i n & Water
ph i c Or
Geo gr a
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Os m on d & Sha
Jessi c a
Estuaries Basic Info
Estuary: a body of water partially enclosed by land that
has a connection to the ocean as well as to a river or it is
an area where saltwater and freshwater mix

The “mouth” is where the freshwater empties into the

ocean and the “head” is at the opposite end where it
receives the freshwater from a river or stream
Heuningnes Estuary

Heuningnes Estuary - the Southernmost in Africa

General Information
It’s water has very large changes in temperature and
salinity

Two way movement of water

Fresh water from the river flows seaward along the surface
Saltwater (denser) from the ocean flows landward along the
bottom
General Information (cont’d)
Mixing between two different types of water is determined
by factors such as wind, tidal range, shape of estuary,
relative inflow of river and ocean water
Geomorphology Classification
1. Drowned River Valleys: a rise in sea level flooded river valleys
creating estuarine systems eg. Chesapeake Bay

2. Bar Built: semi isolated from ocean waters by barrier beaches and
contains narrow inlets allowing contact from ocean waters

3. Fjord Type: formed in deeply eroded valleys formed by glaciers, U

shaped and shallower at mouth

4. Tectonically Produced: formed by subsidence or land cutoff,

associated with faulting, volcanoes and land slides. There is a very small
number of them produced
 San Francisco Bay

The San Francisco Bay originated

from faulting in the earths crusts. This
is an example of a tectonically
produced estuary. This area was
completely covered by ice during the
last ice age and then over 4000 years,
the ice melted and the sea level rose 91
meters.
Water Circulation Classification
1. Salt Wedge: fresh water floats on top of the seawater in
a layer that gradually thins as it moves seaward

2. Partially Mixed: current induced turbulence causes

mixing of the whole new water column; moderately
stratified condition

3. Well Mixed: water column with uniform salinity

Water Circulation Classification
(cont’d)
4. Inverse: evaporation greatly exceeds river flow,
seawater and freshwater both flow close to surface & this
water is then pushed downward

5. Intermittent: estuary type varies depending on

freshwater input and can change to any another estuary
type
Fun Facts
Because of the access to salt and fresh water, estuaries are a popular
place for humans to populate. This in turn, makes estuaries one of the
most polluted kinds of water sources

The pollution that is dumped in estuaries are a concern because the

original algae and plankton that is supported naturally may be killed
off and replaced with other microorganisms

Many ocean creatures are dependent on estuaries for breeding or

feeding during part of their lives eg. cod spawn in freshwater and
after hatching/developing, make their way to the sea
Fun Facts (cont’d)
A shallow estuary that is fairly isolated from the circulation
with the open ocean is sometimes called a “lagoon”

An estuary that is so shallow that large portions of its bottom

appear at low tide is commonly called a “slough”

The excess of evaporation over precipitation causes very high

salinities resulting in large “fish kills” during summer months
when the salinity and temperature rises too high for some
species to tolerate
References
Stowe, K. (1979). Ocean Science. John Wiley & Sons,
United States.

Ross, D. (1988). Introduction to Oceanography Fourth

Edition. Prentice-Hall Canada Inc., Toronto.