What do we know about the geomorphology and physical oceanografphy of South American estuaries?

PERILLO, GERARDO M. E.; CINTIA PICCOLO, M; PINO QUIVIRA, MARIO

Estuaries of South America: their geomorphology and dynamics.

Springer-Verlag

Lugar: Berlín; Año: 1999; p. 1 - 13

As long as freshwater is discharged into the sea, there is the potential for the developmentof an estuary. Although this concept appears to be simple, the marked differences ingeomorphologic, oceanographic, atmospheric and biogeochemical conditions that occuralong the coasts of the world result in a wide variety of estuarine types. The variety is solarge that severalwayshave been used as mean to define and classifythem (Perillo 1995a).Although work in estuaries can be traced back to the beginning of the century, aformal definition was not available up to the '50Swhen studies by Ketchum (1951) first,and then by Pritchard (1952), shaped the basic concepts about their geomorphologicand physical characteristics. Since them, the number of researchers and the knowledgeabout estuaries worldwide have bursted. Fifty years ago the estuarine oceanographywas concentrated on Chesapeake Bay and few estuaries in Europe. Nowadaysestuarine research has spread so much that we have a very well defined knowledge oftheir geomorphology and dynamics to the point that we are seriously developing classificationschemes that are abstracting this vast knowledge.Etymologically, estuary derives from the Latin word "aestus" which means "of tide".That is to say that the term estuary has to be applied to any coastal feature in whichthe tide has special significance. Although estuaries may be regarded only by theirphysiographic parameters: that is,their geomorphologyand hydrology, their biologicaland chemical components should also be considered. Any comprehensive definitionmust necessarily include all these aspects.