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This book provides an introduction to the complex system functions, variability and human interference in ecosystem between the continent and the ocean. It focuses on circulation, transport and mixing of estuarine and coastal water masses, which is ultimately related to an understanding of the hydrographic and hydrodynamic characteristics (salinity, temperature, density and circulation), mixing processes (advection and diffusion), transport timescales such as the residence time and the exposure time.
In the area of physical oceanography, experiments using these water bodies as a natural laboratory and interpreting their circulation and mixing processes using theoretical and semi-theoretical knowledge are of fundamental importance. Small-scale physical models may also be used together with analytical and numerical models. The book highlights the fact that research and theory are interactive, and the results provide the fundamentals for the development of the estuarine research.

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Introduction to estuarine studies.- Circulation and mixing in estuaries.- Estuarine classification.- Physical properties and estuarine experiments.- Reduction and analisis of experimental data: flux and transport of properties.- Mixing processes in estuaries: Simplified methods.- hydrodynamic formulation: Conservation equations of mass, salt and applications.- Hydrodynamic formulation: equations of motion and applications.- Circulation and mixing in steady-state models: Salt wedge type.- Circulation and mixing in steady-state models: Well-mixed estuary.- Circulation and mixing in steady-state models: Partially mixed estuaries.- Numerical hydrodynamic modelling.

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Fernando Pinheiro Andutta is Research Fellow at the Griffith Climate Change Response Program GCCRP at Griffith University, Southport, Australia

Björn Kjerfve is Chancellor of the American University of Sharjah, UAE

Luiz Bruner de Miranda is an emeritus professor at the University of SÆo Paulo, Brazil

And

Belmiro Mendes de Castro Filho is a professor at the University of SÆo Paulo, Brazil

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