VI-181 



SECTION 10. SPECIFIC RESEARCH PROGRAMS 



Research is conducted in an estuary, bay, or coastal zone usual- 

 ly for the solution of a specific problem or for understanding 

 natural phenomena. Elsewhere in this report, the importance of 

 baseline studies has been stressed, but in addition to this, there 

 must be approaches to understanding and solving specific problems 

 in specific estuaries. The purpose of this Section is to present 

 three research and study programs that have been performed or are 

 in progress. This illustration by example demonstrates the way in 

 which knowledge is developed to meet specific needs of technical 

 management and, in turn, comprehensive management of the estuarine 

 zone. In this Section, a baseline study originally designed for 

 Biscayne Bay, Florida, but applicable to virtually any estuarine 

 zone will be presented. The second example is a discussion of 

 a study of the Kaneohe Bay estuary in Hawaii designed as a pre- 

 liminary study prior to its increased use for sewage disposal, 

 i.e., a "before" study with a specific stress in mind. The third 

 specific research program is a proposal for re-establishing a 

 desirable ecosystem in an estuary after damage has occurred and 

 the source of damage has been removed. There will be many 

 similarities in each of these studies, indicating that there is a 

 basic fund of knowledge necessary regardless of the purpose of a 

 research activity in an estuarine zone. Each of these proposals 

 demonstrates the necessity of considering any estuarine zone in 

 the context of a complete system. 



