Connecticut Water Trails Association
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Connecticut Water Trails Association |
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Connecticut Water Trails Program
Estuaries
Freshwater Estuaries
Sometimes, freshwater from rivers mixes with large freshwater bodies creating a "freshwater estuary" that functions like a typical brackish estuaries.
In some special cases estuaries can be defined as
those areas where a freshwater source meets another, larger freshwater
body. For example, those areas where freshwater from rivers meet the
shores of the enormous, freshwater Great Lakes can be considered a
special type of freshwater estuary. This special freshwater estuary is
similar in many ways to the more common estuary where rivers meet the
sea.
Circulation Patterns
Within An Estuary: The change in water flow through an estuary with the
change in tides produces tidal currents. Water in these currents moves
back and forth through the estuary but not necessarily out to sea. There
is a net movement of seawater inward at depth and freshwater outward at
the surface of the estuary.
In Long Island Sound the source of freshwater to
the estuaries is typically rivers, such as the Connecticut, Housatonic,
Niantic and Thames.
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