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The Keys To Unlocking Transitions In Water - Online Term Paper

The Keys To Unlocking Transitions In Water

When examining waters transition from fresh to salt as well as from salt
to fresh one quickly finds the importance of estuaries. In terms of geology,
present-day estuaries are young and ephemeral coastal features. Today's
estuaries began to take their current form during the last interglacial period,
when sea level rose about 120 m (Braun 36). However, the relatively high sea
levels and extensive estuaries found today have been characteristic of only
about 10 to 20 percent of the last million years. When sea level was lower,
during glaciation periods, estuaries were much smaller than they are at present
and were located on what is now the continental slope. Unless sea level ...

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force seawater inland as a
countercurrent and produce a saltwater wedge below the freshwater surface waters
(Bellamy 62).
Estuaries are always in a state of change and hardly ever in a steady
state. The principal energy source are tides, causing estuarine mixing, but wind,
wave motions, and river runoff can also be important locally (Braun 45). Salt
water and fresh water mix to form brackish water. The three main estuarine ones—
saltwater, brackish, and freshwater—can shift seasonally and vary greatly from
one area to another because of changes in river flow. Also, an area of an
estuary can change from stratified to well-mixed during the spring neap-tide
cycles.
The most highly stratified estuaries are the ones that receive a large
amount of fresh water but that have a relatively low tidal range. Partially
mixed estuaries have moderate freshwater inflow and tidal range. The brackish
zone of such estuaries may have a salinity of 2 to 10 parts per thousand (ppt),
compared with ...

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The Keys To Unlocking Transitions In Water. (2006, June 25). Retrieved April 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Keys-To-Unlocking-Transitions-Water/48141

"The Keys To Unlocking Transitions In Water." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 25 Jun. 2006. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Keys-To-Unlocking-Transitions-Water/48141>

"The Keys To Unlocking Transitions In Water." Essayworld.com. June 25, 2006. Accessed April 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Keys-To-Unlocking-Transitions-Water/48141.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 6/25/2006 05:45:07 PM
Category: Science & Nature
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 419
Pages: 2

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