Estuaries

Dynamic Ecosystems at the Land-Sea Interface

Leonel Pereira

• Publisher: IntechOpen
• Year: 2026
• eBook ISBN:
  9781836353904
• Print ISBN:
  9781836353911
• Topic: Physical Sciences

Estuaries are among the most vibrant and complex environments on the planet, places where land, river, and sea converge to create ecosystems of extraordinary productivity, diversity, and change. This volume, Estuaries – Dynamic Ecosystems at the Land–Sea Interface, offers a compelling exploration of these transitional systems through a multidisciplinary lens, revealing how physical forces, ecological processes, and human pressures interact to shape estuarine futures. Across six richly detailed chapters, leading researchers examine estuaries from hydrodynamic, ecological, geological, and socio?economic perspectives. The book opens with a foundational overview of estuarine structure and function, establishing the scientific context needed to understand their inherent dynamism. A century?long analysis of storm surges in the Río de la Plata follows, uncovering subtle but significant shifts in extreme events under changing climatic conditions. Subsequent chapters highlight the ecological importance of coastal vegetated ecosystems in UK estuaries, demonstrating their roles as blue carbon sinks, biodiversity hotspots, and essential components of resilient food webs. A trait?based investigation of estuarine polychaetas provides new insights into population performance and environmental quality, while a focused perspective on aquifer geology underscores the often?overlooked influence of subsurface processes on submarine groundwater discharge and seawater intrusion. The volume concludes with a regional case study from West Africa, emphasizing the indispensable role of estuaries in sustaining coastal fisheries, livelihoods, and food security. Together, these contributions paint a vivid picture of estuaries as dynamic, interconnected systems whose health is vital to both nature and society. This book is an essential resource for researchers, students, coastal managers, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the processes that govern estuarine environments and the challenges they face in a rapidly changing world.

Table of contents

• Estuaries - Dynamic Ecosystems at the Land-Sea Interface
• Contents
• Preface
• Chapter 1 - Introductory Chapter: Estuaries
• Chapter 2 - Estuaries: The Lifeblood of Coastal Fisheries in West Africa
• Chapter 3 - Population Performance and Resilience in Polychaetes as Environmental Indicators of Estuarine Ecosystems
• Chapter 4 - Living Links: Coastal Vegetated Ecosystems in UK Estuaries as Blue Carbon Sinks and Food Web Foundations
• Chapter 5 - Perspective Chapter: The Significance of Characterising Geologic and Hydrogeologic Settings of Aquifers for Submarine Groundwater Discharge and Seawater Intrusion Estimations
• Chapter 6 - Changes and Evolution in Positive and Negative Storm Surges Recorded in the Río de la Plata Estuary from 1905 to 2024