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As with most other areas, the basic research issues are not 

 particularly related to sea level change, but with the fundamentals of 

 physics, chemistry and biology, as they interact and influence estuarine 

 processes. Advances in knowledge have been diluted by too much 

 site-specific and empirical work. A part of the problem appears to lie 

 with the fact that a great deal of effort has been directed to address 

 specific problems unrelated to basic questions posed by scientists. 



In recent years several scientific reports have identified relevant 

 research areas which must be tackled for ultimately improving our 

 predictive capabilities (e.g.. North Carolina Sea Grant, "Geophysics in the 

 Environment"; MSRG' s "Transport of Fine-grained Sediment"; C. Officer's 

 book; Chesapeake Bay's program; NOAA's estuary program plan).^ Greater 

 attention needs to be paid to research requirements outlined in these 

 reports. Thus, for example, in a recent report issued by the National 

 Research Council (1987a) , research areas in fine sediment transport have 

 been clearly identified. 



^Henry Bokuniewicz , Marine Sciences Research Center, SUNY, Stony 

 Brook, New York, personal communication. 



