628 

 Section 13. Summary and Conclusions 



The purpose of this chapter is to identify the estuarine problems and 

 areas requiring further research and study. The discussion represents 

 a synthesized consensus of the leading estuarine scientists, engineers, 

 planners, and economists in various universities, organizations and 

 Federal, State, and local government agencies; 15 professional organi- 

 zations in the forefront of estuarine research; the public, as deter- 

 mined in 30 public meetings ; several special studies ; the Office of Re- 

 search and Development of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

 Administration; and the combined Committee on Oceanography of 

 the National Academy of Sciences and the Committee on Ocean En- 

 gineering of the National Academy of Engineering. 



A great deal of technical and socioeconomic knowledge is necessary 

 to support a comprehensive program of estuarine management. This 

 knowledge must be supplied through multidisciplinary efforts. The 

 knowledge thus developed must include: (1) knowledge and under- 

 standing of the biological, physical, and chemical factors of the es- 

 tuarine zone, (2) knowledge of the institutional framework governing 

 each portion of the estuarine zone, (3) knowledge of the demographic, 

 social, and economic factors and their trends, (4) establishment of 

 goals and uses so that future studies can be relevantly oriented, and 

 (5) an augmentation and synthesis of the previous four adequate to 

 enhance estuarine management. 



The most important knowledge to be gained is an understanding of 

 the estuarine environment adequate to permit the recognition and 

 interpretation of causal relationships which, in turn, provides the 

 capability to predict the effects of natural and human activities in 

 the estuarine zone and hence supports a program of technical man- 

 agement. The research programs which will yield this information are 

 in the categories of : 



(1) Ecology, taken to include baseline information, broad 

 ecological studies, biology, water quality, natural variability, and 

 interface factors. 



(2) Toxicity, taken to include bioassay needs and methodology, 

 sublethal effects, and mortality phenomena. 



(3) Microbiology, taken to include the regeneration of plant 

 nutrients, biodfegraduation of organic wastes, eutrophication, and 

 pathogens. 



(4) Physics and mathematics, taken to include hydraulics, sedi- 

 mentation, effects of structures and physical modifications, and 

 physical and mathematical modeling. 



(5) Socioeconomic factors, taken to include planning, eco- 

 nomics, law, social and demographic factors and trends, resource 

 evaluation and allocation, and the role of technical research and 

 study in supporting a comprehensive management program. 



(6) Ancillary research and study needs, taken to include en- 

 vironmental monitoring, methodology (both laboratory and field 

 techniques), data processing, training needs, and estuarine zone 

 laboratories. 



