Elaiza Margaret H.

Yonson
MB 102
Assessment Task # 1

Estuaries (Fjords) - Estuaries are the areas of water where rivers and oceans converge. A Fjord is a type of
estuary that is often formed by moving glaciers. Fjords are long, narrow valleys with steep sides. Near the
ocean, the glaciers leave behind deep channels with a thin, shallow sill. Estuaries are formed when seawater
floods the deeply cut valleys left behind by retreating glaciers.

Figure 1: Framvaren Fjord located on the southernmost part of Norway

The Framvaren Fjord is a permanently anoxic fjord due to the geomorphological features. At the end of the last
glaciation period, the fjord was still connected to the North Sea. Following that occurred an isostatic uplift
which disconnected the fjord from the open sea. The former fjord then turned into a meriomictic lake with sea
water in the bottom 80 m. Due to the poor water exchange, the fjord results in a stagnant, anoxic (low oxygen)
water that builds up on the bottom of the fjord.

Anoxic and hypoxic events can significantly reduce the number, diversity, and catch of fish in impacted
waterways, which can lead to a loss of biodiversity on a larger scale.
Rivers - A river is a body of water that resembles a ribbon and moves downward under the influence of gravity.
A river may be both large and deep or it may be only shallow enough to wade across.

Figure 2: Rio Negro located in the Amazon, Brazil

The breakdown of organic materials in marginal marshes and the river's low silt concentration are what give the
Negro's water its dark brown to black color, which gives the river its name.

The black water basins are thought to have a more delicate biological equilibrium than the other basins in the
Amazon region because of their low nutrient concentration, acidic pH, and high concentration of potentially
poisonous phenolic chemicals. Because of their highly adapted nature, these ecosystems' numerous interactions
between ecological groups can therefore be thought of as being of utmost significance.

When compared to other Amazon regions, the Rio Negro basin offers less favorable circumstances for
maintaining fish stocks. Most of the species that survive the river are endemic species native to the river survive
which have adapted to the nutrient deprived and acidic nature of Rio Negro.
Saltwater Lakes – Saltwater lakes are bodies of water that have salinities in excess of 3 grams per liter.

Figure 3: Dead Sea located between Israel and Jordan

At 418 meters below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest place on Earth. It is also one of the saltiest bodies of
water in the world, with a salinity of roughly 300 parts per thousand (nine times greater than ocean salinity). It
is surrounded by Israel and Jordan and is nourished by the Jordan River. The Dead Sea Rift containing the Dead
Sea formed as a result of the Arabian tectonic plate moving northward away from the African Plate. The Dead
Sea's mineral composition, which consists of roughly 53% magnesium chloride, 37% potassium chloride, and
8% sodium chloride, differs greatly from that of ocean water.

The Dead Sea's salt concentration is largely due to the shoreline rocks dissolving. Rock salt and other rocks
with a high mineral concentration make up the shoreline. The material that makes up the rocks ends up in the
ocean as the salt and rocks erode away from the coastlines. This makes the Dead Sea inhabitable hence, the
name.
Lagoon - A lagoon is a small body of water that is shielded from a larger one (often the ocean) by coral reefs,
islands, or sandbars. Many more names for lagoons include estuaries, sounds, bays, and even lakes.

Figure 4: Kasegaluk Lagoon located in Alaska

The Kasegaluk Lagoon is a coastal lagoon separated from the Chukchi Sea. Phytoplankton are the base of the
food web in the arctic. The summer open-water period is when populations of phytoplankton, zooplankton,
epibenthic mysids, amphipods, pelagic and epibenthic crustaceans, and copepods are most frequently seen in
lagoons.

For spotted seal haul-outs and beluga whale molting, Kasegaluk Lagoon is especially important. Important
characteristics of this and comparable lagoons include shallow water (about 4 m), moderately warm
temperatures, and low, narrow sand and gravel islands. In shallow lagoons, beluga whales may eat bottom fish,
crabs, and mollusks. Numerous species of migratory birds depend on lagoons with freshwater influences from
rivers and tidal flats on both seacoasts as their home.

An ice-associated food web made up of protozoans, metazoans, larvae of benthic polychaetas and gastropods,
nematodes, copepods, and amphipods are supported by the organic matter created within the sea ice. For arctic
diving birds and arctic fish, under-ice amphipods, copepods, and zooplankton are key food sources; cod is also
a significant part of the diets of seabirds and marine animals.
Saltwater Swamps - Coastlines in tropical regions develop saltwater wetlands. These swamps start off as
barren flats of mud and sand that receive a thin layer of seawater coverage during high tides.

swamp in Loango National Park, Gabon. 

Mangrove trees and other tidal flooding-tolerant plants start to grow and quickly develop thickets of roots and
branches. Mangrove trees frequently have long, slender roots. Sand and other materials are anchored by the
roots. The soil builds up more as a result of the roots' growth and decomposition.

Instead of being swept away, dead plant stuff settles. The decay of the dead plant quickly consumes what
oxygen is given, leaving the mud and bottom waters low or devoid of oxygen (due to the sluggish replacement
and lack of turbulence in the water). The decomposition of organic stuff is incomplete in these circumstances.
As a result, the substratum begins to accumulate the more resistant component (humates and tannins) creating
the familiar color of swamps we see varying from yellow to deep brown.

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/swamp
https://www.britannica.com/science/swamp
6. Bay - (harmful algal blooms) in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries by the University of Maryland
Center for Environmental Science show a marked increase in these ecosystem-disrupting events in the past 20
years that are being fed by excess nitrogen runoff from the watershed.
https://www.umces.edu/hpl/story/2015/jun/01/study-shows-harmful-algal-blooms-chesapeake-bay-are-more-
frequent

7. Red Sea (sea) - The clefts within the deeper part of the trough are unusual seafloor areas in which (hot
brine concentrates) are found. These patches apparently form distinct and separated deeps within the trough and
have a north-south trend, whereas the general trend of the trough is from northwest to southeast. At the bottom
of these areas are unique sediments, containing deposits of( heavy metal oxides from 30 to 60 feet thick.

Corals in the Red Sea have to handle higher temperatures, yet they seem to grow and do just fine. The Red Sea
is a very warm sea compared to other places. There, summer temperatures can reach up to 34°C, while other
ocean waters may reach around 29–32°C. Interestingly, corals in the Red Sea are not only living in higher
temperatures but also in higher salinity

https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2019.00038
https://www.britannica.com/place/Red-Sea

8. Tidal inlets Tidal inlets are an important and complex component of barrier island systems. These high-
energy systems separate adjacent barrier islands and are (conduits for a great deal of sediment transport. ) (The
tidal inlet runs from the bay’s mouth to the Luxi River outlet in Jiuzhen Bay)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/tidal-inlet
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jchem/2020/7971294/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
362298094_The_role_of_geological_mouth_islands_on_the_morphodynamics_of_back-barrier_tidal_basins/
figures?lo=1

9. Deltas which a phenomena called a river burification, causing floods, and is a prominent issue in
regions where levees are in use. Bifurcations are a major distributor of nutrients and mineral particulates to
biologically rich areas in deltas. Sudden deterioration or initiation of bifurcated systems can disrupt the
deposition of material required for various organisms to live, and thus has an indirect impact on surrounding
ecosystems via flow patterns. (Delta in the Salween River in Myanmar)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_bifurcation#/media/File:Salween_delta.jpg

10. Springs (Hot geothermal springs/sites) - ponta da Ferraria is a pool with hot geothermal water from
a sulphurous hot spring and cold water from the ocean mix. The spring itself is around 61 degrees and the
ocean varies from 18 to 28 degrees, depending on the time of year.

The latter may exhibit high metal concentration and acidified seawater due to the diffusion of volcanic gases,
input of water with lower salinity, and a wide range of temperature values

Hot, mineral-rich fluids supply nutrient chemicals. Microbes, some of which eat these chemicals, form the base
of the food chain for a diverse community of organisms. increasing chemical rock leaching and concurrent
modification of fluid composition.

mixed thermal fluid is significantly more acidic, acidic waters create conditions that eat away at the minerals
used by oysters, clams, lobsters, shrimp, coral reefs, and other marine life to build their shells and skeletons.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12665-010-0877-8