IV-525 



With wider channels, smaller river flows, and greater tidal ranges, 

 more mixing occurs and other forces come into play. Embayment 

 shape, bottom configuration and material, and the effects of the 

 Earth's rotation all may play a role. In some estuarine systems 

 of this type, the degree of stratification may change with changes 

 in river flow, temperature, wind, or other transient conditions. 



Estuarine water quality is the product of both land and water. 

 From the land, erosion and solution in river water bring suspended 

 and dissolved minerals, while decaying vegetation adds dissolved 

 salts, but negligible quantities of organic matter. 



In the estuarine zone these two different solutions meet and mix. 

 Salt concentrations range from that of the oceans to the almost 

 unmeasurable amounts present in some rivers. Where little 

 stratification exists, sea salt dominates mineral concentrations 

 in estuarine waters; in stratified systems, however, the small 

 amounts of minerals entering in the fresh water may be as important 

 in some parts of the estuarine zone as the much larger concentrations 

 from the sea are in others. 



THE LIFE 



The governance of the dominating environmental factors, as modified 

 by estuarine shape and water quality, result in an input of energy 

 into individual estuarine systems, and it is in the variety and 

 diversity of estuarine life that the input of energy to the estuarine 



