Estuarine Ecosystem

What is Estuary?
• A partially enclosed coastal body of
water that is either permanently or
periodically open to the sea
• It receives at least periodic discharge
from a river(s)
• It is the meeting point of fresh water
from river(s) and saline water from
Ocean
• One of the best examples of Ecotone
• Highly productive even more than the
adjacent sea or river
Classification of
Estuary
1. Based on the Water Balance
2. Based on Geomorphology
3. Based on the Vertical structure of Salinity
4. Based on Hydrodynamics
 Based on water balance

Estuary

Negative or
Positive Low-inflow
Inverse
 1. Positive Estuary
• Fresh water addition from river discharge, rain and ice melting
exceeds freshwater losses from evaporation or freezing
• Establish a longitudinal density gradient

(Valle et al, 2009)

 2. Negative Estuary
• Freshwater losses from evaporation exceed freshwater additions from
precipitation
• Longitudinal density gradient has the opposite sign to that in positive
estuaries

(Valle et al, 2009)

 (Valle et al, 2009) (Valle et al, 2009)

From Landward- Positive estuary From Seaward- Negative estuary

 3. Low-inflow estuary
• Occurs in regions of high evaporation rates but with a small influence from
river discharge
• The zone of maximum salinity acts as a barrier

(Valle et al, 2009)

 Based on Geomorphology

Estuary

Coastal plain Fjord Bar-built Tectonic

 1. Coastal Plain Estuary
• Also known as Drowned River
Valley
• Result of the Pleistocene increase
in sea level, starting ~15,000 years
ago
• They are typically wide( several
kilometers)
• Shallow (on the order of 10 m)

Example: Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay Estuary on the eastern coast of
the United States
 2. Fjord Estuary
• U- shaped valley by glacial
action
• Found in areas with a long
history of glacier activity
• Elongated, deep channel
with a sill

Example: Estuaries of Northern Europe,

Alaska and Canada
3. Bar-built estuary
• It forms when a shallow lagoon or bay is protected from the
ocean by a sand bar or barrier island

Example: Eastern Seaboard and The Gulf Coast of North America

4. Tectonic Estuary
• Caused by the folding or faulting of land surfaces
due to volcanic activity

Example: California’s San Francisco Bay

 Based on Vertical structure of salinity

Estuary

Strongly Weakly
Salt wedge Well mixed
stratified stratified
Salt wedge
 1. Salt wedge
• Strong river discharge and weak
tidal force
• Strongly stratified during flood
tides
• The ocean water intrudes in a
wedge shape
• Lose salt wedge nature during
dry periods (Valle et al, 2009)

• Exhibits a sharp pycnocline (or

halocline)
Example: Mississippi (USA), Rio de la Plata (Argentina), Vellar (India)
 2. Strongly stratified
• Moderate to strong river
discharge and weak to moderate
tidal forcing
• Similar stratification to salt
wedge estuaries
• But the stratification remains
strong throughout the tidal cycle
(Valle et al, 2009)
• A well-developed pycnocline with
weak vertical variations
Example: The Vellar River estuary, Indian state of Tamil Nadu
 3. Weakly stratified
• Moderate to strong tidal force
and weak to moderate river
discharge
• The mean salinity profile either
has a weak pycnocline or
continuous stratification from
surface to bottom
(Valle et al, 2009)
• Exception: Near the bottom
mixed layer.
Example: Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay and James River
 4. Well mixed
• Strong tidal forcing and weak river
discharge
• In wide and shallow estuaries, inflows
may develop on one side across the
estuary and outflow on the other side,
especially during the dry season
• In narrow estuaries, inflow of salinity
may only occur during the flood tide
because the mean flow will be seaward
(Valle et al, 2009)

Example: Parts of the lower Chesapeake Bay may exhibit this behavior in early
autumn
 Common Estuarine Habitats:

• Oyster reefs
• Kelp forests
• Rocky and soft shorelines
• Submerged aquatic vegetation
• Coastal marshes
• Mangroves forests
• Mud flats
• Tidal streams
• Barrier beaches
• Salt marshes
• Deepwater swamps and
riverine forests
Special Adaptations of the
Organisms in Estuary:
• Salinity, temperature, water levels and light levels vary along
the length of an estuary
• Organic accumulation is common
• Irregular surfaces and high-energy wind patterns and waves
along with tidal action require strong root systems for plants
and methods for dealing with intermittent wet and dry
conditions
• Coping mechanisms include moving out of unfavorable
areas, shutting up shells, digging borrows and excretion of
excess salts
• Many fish maintain water balance by actively drinking salt
water, from which much of the water is absorbed by the gut
and the solutes are excreted through the gills and the
kidneys
• Fish also adapt by increasing their respiratory water flow
and increase oxygen consumption to compensate for the
depressing effects of low temperatures
• Organisms have mechanisms to deal with high-energy winds
and waves
• Trees adapt themselves with numerous crowded branches
• Other adaptations of the tree may include flattening of the
trunk, root and branches in a plane parallel to the wind
direction