Estuarine Processes & Environmental Systems

Estuaries and tidally influenced coastal systems are shaped by interactions among tides, river inflows, circulation patterns, and sediment processes. Work in this area examines how these dynamics operate across channels, bays, marshes, and wetlands, and how they influence environmental conditions, ecosystem function, and coastal resilience. These studies integrate hydrodynamic, sediment, ecological, and management perspectives and contribute to broader understanding of linkages between watershed inputs, estuarine dynamics, and coastal responses.

Research Themes

  • Tidal motion and propagation
  • Estuary–ocean exchange and salinity dynamics
  • Bay–marsh flow, sediment exchange, and wetland stability
  • Hydrodynamic processes shaping estuarine habitats and morphology
  • Physical processes supporting coastal wetland and estuarine restoration
  • Interactions of freshwater inflows, tidal forcing, and coastal processes
  • Linkages between hydrodynamics, sediment dynamics, and environmental conditions

Selected Contributions

Examples of work in this area include:

  • Analyses of tidal propagation and flow adjustment in estuarine channels
  • Studies of interactions among bays, tidal flats, and marsh systems
  • Research on sediment transport affecting coastal wetland morphology and resilience
  • Hydrodynamic and sediment studies used to support restoration and conservation planning
  • Integration of estuarine processes with watershed and coastal system analyses
  • Contributions to multi-scale synthesis connecting inland hydrology to estuarine and coastal resilience

Selected publications related to estuarine hydrodynamics, sediment processes, and coastal environmental systems will be added here.

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