What is an estuary?
Estuaries
Coastal lagoons
Semi-enclosed coastal body of water
free communication with ocean
ocean salinity is measurably diluted
by runoff
(Pinet, 2003)
Types of Estuaries
According to Their Origin
(Pinet, 2003)
(Pinet, 2003)
(Pinet, 2003)
San Francisco Bay
Typical Estuarine Circulation
Types of
Estuaries
According to
Their
Stratification
(Pinet, 2003)
Competition
between
tidal forcing
and
buoyancy
forcing
Typical circulation in a fjord
mouth
depth
head
Typical profile of net velocity
Typical profile of salinity (density)
(Pinet, 2003)
Rio de la Plata Estuary
Argentina
head
Example of fjord
mouth
(Pinet, 2003)
The mouth of the bay is on the right
S
Axial Distributions
Chesapeake Bay
T
Spring of 1999

(Pinet, 2003)
Example of Well-Mixed Estuary
Types of Estuaries According to their water balance
Net Mass Loss
No Mass Loss
Looking into lagoon
Red = Water going out
Blue = Water going in
Inverse Estuary
Normal Estuary
Salt-plug estuary
ER
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