The Bahía Blanca Estuary is one of the largest coastal systems in Atlantic South America. This mesotidal estuary, situated in a sharp transition between humid subtropical and semiarid climates, has a unique combination of large interannual climatic variations. The estuarine area encompasses roughly 2300 square kilometers and is composed of wide expanses of intertidal flats, salt marshes, and emerged islands, which create intricate landscape patterns. Natural environments in the estuary sustain a high concentration of marine and terrestrial species, including endemic, threatened, and endangered fish and shorebirds. Puerto Cuatreros, in the inner zone of the estuary, hosts a permanent marine research station, whose records span more than 30 years of biophysical variables, and represent one of the largest time series of ecological data in South America. Beyond its ecological relevance, the Bahía Blanca Estuary is under increasing anthropogenic pressure from large urban settlements, industrial developments and harbors, raising the question of how to balance conservation and development. The Bahía Blanca Estuary: Ecology and Biodiversity offers a comprehensive review of life in the ecosystems of the estuary. The book is divided into five major sections, the first of which provides a description of the regional setting and covers key aspects of estuarine dynamics. The three following sections are dedicated to different habitat types and, within each section, the chapters are organized around major functional groups from pelagic and benthic environments. The fifth and final section covers issues related to management and conservation. Overall, the book provides essential and up-to-date reference material on the biodiversity and ecosystem processes of the Bahía Blanca Estuary, and will appeal to a broad international audience.

The original idea of this book started when we were making a residual fluxes study of the Paranagua Coastal Lagoon (Brazil) near the colonial town of Guaraque~aba.Among the beautiful mangroves of this Brazilian National Park, between profile and profile, we wondered why South American estuaries were little known in the international arena. Besides, most of the papers published in the literature are based on biological research. Practically nothing is known about their geomorphology and dynamics. That night, while we were walking along the hilly streets of the town, we decided that the only way to have an idea about the degree of advance in the geomorphology and dynamics of our estuaries was to ask the proper South American researchers to write review articles about the estuaries in which they were working or about the gen eral state of the art of the Geomorphology and Physical Oceanography of the estuar ies of his/her country. The book grew from then on. Although initially many scien tists offer to write a chapter, we ran into the same problem these researchers have to publish in journals, they felt that their English was not good enough and withdrew. However, we are very satisfy about the number and quality of the contributions which also passed a very strong review process.

This collection of papers offers a new approach to nearshore and estuary studies, with an emphasis on multidisciplinary techniques and data integration. The important results of these studies are accompanied by full color images.

Coastal and marine ecosystems, some severely degraded, other still pristine, control rich resources of inshore environments and coastal seas of Latin America's Pacific and Atlantic margins. Conflicts between the needs of the region's nations and diminishing revenues and environmental quality have induced awareness of coastal ecological problems and motivated financial support for restoration and management. The volume provides a competent review on the structure, processes and function of 22 important Latin American coastal marine ecosystems. Each contribution describes the environmental settings, biotic components and structure of the system, considers trophic processes and energy flow, evaluates the modifying influence of natural and human perturbations, and suggests management needs. Although the focus of the book is on basic ecological research, the results have application for coastal managers.

Coastal, estuarine, fluvial and submarine morphodynamics encompass some of the leading processes shaping our planet. They stem mainly, but not only, from the interaction of water in motion and movable sediment boundaries, resulting in morphological changes produced by erosion, transport and deposition of sediments that generate a variety of landsca

This book presents selected contributions to the Pan-American Congress of Naval Engineering, Maritime Transport and Port Engineering (COPINAVAL), which is in its twenty-fifth edition and has become a reference event for the global maritime and port sector, attracting more and more participants from different countries. The 2017 congress was held in Panama City, Panama, bringing together a select group of scientists, entrepreneurs, academics and professionals to discuss the latest technological advances in the maritime industry.

Approx.470 pages

Issues in Global Environment—Freshwater and Marine Environments: 2012 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Freshwater Research. The editors have built Issues in Global Environment—Freshwater and Marine Environments: 2012 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Freshwater Research in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Issues in Global Environment—Freshwater and Marine Environments: 2012 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

This book is a part of the Sabkha Ecosystems series which was designed to provide information on sabkha ecosystems of different regions and to add to the collective knowledge available about saline ecosystems. The comprehensive coverage assists the reader gaining a thorough understanding of sabkha geology, hydrology, geomorphology, zoology, botany, ecology and ecosystem functioning, as well as sabkha conservation, utilization and development. Volume I focused on The Arabian Peninsula and Adjacent Countries, volume II was based on describing saline ecosystems of West and Central Asia , volume III referred to Africa and Southern Europe, while volume IV focused on Cash Crop Halophyte and Biodiversity Conservation. The present volume V focuses on Americans.