Eutrophication Of Narmada And Tapi Tropical Estuaries Gulf Of Khambhat India

Estuaries and the lands surrounding them are places of transition from land to sea and from fresh to salt water. Although influenced by the tides, estuaries are protected from the full force of ocean waves, winds, and storms by the reefs, barrier island or fingers of land, mud or sand that define an estuary's seaward boundary. In India, estuaries have been a focal point of activities for human settlement, for development of port and harbors. The health status and the biological diversity of the Indian estuarine ecosystem are deteriorating day-by-day through man-made activities and dumping of enormous quantities of sewage and industrial effluent. They are "nurseries of the sea", as it is an ideal location for fish, shellfish, and other marine animals to reproduce in protected environment and availability of abundant food. Besides, estuaries are important for the health of the oceans as it can filter sediment and pollutants from the water before it flows into the oceans. Estuaries are vulnerable to excessive loading of nutrients by runoff containing fertilizer and other pollutants. Estuaries are among the most complex and complicated ecosystems in the biosphere because they are at the interface of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems. Estuaries are ecologically very important because it provides vital habitats for thousands of marine species. In recent decades, population growth and related activities (agricultural practices, wastewater treatment plants, urban run-off, and the burning of fossil fuels) have increased nutrient inputs by many folds than the levels that occur naturally. The present book Eutrophication of Narmada and Tapi Tropical Estuaries, Gulf of Khambhat, India explores the two major estuaries (Narmada, Tapi), and Gulf of Khambhat, Gujarat, India, in terms of an in-depth study of hydrochemistry, geochemistry, biodiversity (phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic community), along with site-specific challenges and their solutions in both the estuarine and gulf environs. The book will certainly be useful to students, researchers, academicians, scientists, and marine authorities of Gujarat as well as India, to enrich their knowledge in the field of ecology, biodiversity, conservation, restoration, and management of estuarine and gulf environs.