NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Brackish water

Brackish water (less commonly brack water) is water that is saltier than fresh water, but not as salty as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. Certain human activities can produce brackish water, in particular certain civil engineering projects such as dikes and the flooding of coastal marshland to produce brackish water pools for freshwater prawn farming. Brackish water is also the primary waste product of the blue energy process. Because brackish water is hostile to the growth of most terrestrial plant species, without appropriate management it is damaging to the environment (see article on shrimp farms). Brackish was the first single released by all-women alternative metal band Kittie from their album Spit. ... Annual mean sea surface salinity for the World Ocean. ... For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... Annual mean sea surface salinity for the World Ocean. ... For other meanings, see Estuary (disambiguation) Rio de la Plata estuary An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. ... An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, silt, or clay) from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. ... The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland. ... Afsluitdijk, a 32 km dike in the Netherlands. ... A freshwater prawn farm is an aquaculture business designed to raise and produce freshwater prawn or shrimp1 for human consumption. ... Blue energy is the energy retrieved from the difference in the salt concentration between seawater and river water with the use of osmosis or reverse electro dialysis (RED) with ion specific membranes. ... Shrimp growout pond on a farm in South Korea. ...

Technically, brackish water contains between 0.5 and 30 grams of salt per litre—more often expressed as 0.5 to 30 parts per thousand (ppt or ‰). Thus, brackish covers a range of salinity regimes and is not considered a precisely defined condition. It is characteristic of many brackish surface waters that their salinity can vary considerably over space and/or time. For other uses, see Salt (disambiguation). ... The litre or liter (see spelling differences) is a unit of volume. ... Annual mean sea surface salinity for the World Ocean. ...

For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... For the sports equipment manufacturer, see Brine, Corp. ...

Brackish water habitats

Estuaries

Brackish is a mixture of sea water and fresh water. An estuary is a body of water with fresh and salt water.The most important brackish water habitats are estuaries, where a river meets the sea. The River Thames flowing through London is one of the most familiar of river estuaries. The town of Teddington a few miles west of London marks the limit of the tidal part of the Thames, although it is still a freshwater river about as far east as Battersea insofar as the average salinity is very low and the fish fauna consists predominantly of freshwater species such as roach, dace, carp, perch, and pike. The Thames Estuary becomes truly brackish between Battersea and Gravesend, and the diversity of freshwater fish species present is smaller, primarily roach and dace, euryhaline marine species such as flounder, European seabass, mullet, and smelt become much more common. Further east, the salinity increases and the freshwater fish species are completely replaced by euryhaline marine ones, until the river reaches Gravesend, at which point conditions become fully marine and the fish fauna resembles that of the adjacent North Sea and includes both euryhaline and stenohaline marine species. A similar pattern of replacement can be observed with the aquatic plants and invertebrates living in the river [1], [2]. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Several places exist with the name Thames, and the word is also used as part of several brand and company names Most famous is the River Thames in England, on which the city of London stands Other Thames Rivers There is a Thames River in Canada There is a Thames... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... , Teddington is an area of London, England on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. ... Battersea is a place in the London Borough of Wandsworth. ... Roach can refer to: Cockroach, an insect. ... A dace is any of a number of species of small cyprinid fish. ... For other uses, see Carp (disambiguation). ... Species P. flavescens (Yellow perch) P. fluviatilis (European perch) P. schrenkii (Balkhash perch) For other meanings of the word perch, including fish not in the Perca genus, see Perch (disambiguation). ... Species E. americanus – grass and redfin pickerels E. lucius – northern pike E. masquinongy – muskellunge E. niger – chain pickerel – Amur pike Esox Linnaeus, 1758, is a genus of freshwater fish, the only member of the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. ... Gravesend can refer to: Gravesend, Kent, England Gravesend, New York, USA This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Euryhaline organisms are able to adapt to a wide range of salinities. ... Flounder or flukes are flatfish that live in ocean waters ie. ... Binomial name Dicentrarchus labrax Linnaeus, 1758 The European seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax, also known as Morone labrax, is a primarily ocean-going fish that sometimes enters brackish and fresh water. ... Genera Agonostomus Aldrichetta Cestraeus Cahaenomugil Chelon Crenimugil Joturus Liza Moolgarda Mugil Myxus Neomyxus Oedalechilus Rhinomugil Sicamugil Valaomugil Xenomugil The mullets are a family (Mugilidae) of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and in some species in fresh water also. ... Genera Allosmerus Hypomesus Mallotus Osmerus Spirinchus Thaleichthys Smelts are a family, Osmeridae, of small anadromous fish. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... Stenohaline describes an organism, ussually fish, that cannot handle a wide fluctuation in the salt content of water. ...

This type of ecological succession from a freshwater to marine ecosystem is typical of river estuaries. River estuaries form important staging points during the migration of anadromous and catadromus fish species, such as salmon and eels, giving them time to form social groups and to adjust to the changes in salinity. Salmon are anadromous, meaning they live in the sea but ascend rivers to spawn; eels are catadromous, living in rivers and streams, but returning to the sea to breed. Besides the species that migrate through estuaries, there are many other fish that use them as "nursery grounds" for spawning or as places young fish can feed and grow before moving elsewhere. Herring and plaice are two commercially important species that use the Thames Estuary for this purpose. Estuaries are also used as fishing grounds and as places for fish farming or ranching. Atlantic salmon farms are often located in estuaries, for example, though this has caused controversy because in doing so, fish farmers expose migrating wild fish to large numbers of external parasites such as sea lice that escape from the pens the farmed fish are kept in [3]. Secondary succession: trees are colonizing uncultivated fields and meadows. ... A coral reef near the Hawaiian islands is an example of a complex marine ecosystem. ... Many types of fish undertake migrations on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annual, and with distances ranging from a few meters to thousands of kilometers. ... For other uses, see Salmon (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Eel (disambiguation). ... Species Clupea alba Clupea bentincki Clupea caspiopontica Clupea chrysotaenia Clupea elongata Clupea halec Clupea harengus Clupea inermis Clupea leachii Clupea lineolata Clupea minima Clupea mirabilis Clupea pallasii Clupea sardinacaroli Clupea sulcata Herrings are small oily fish of the genus Clupea found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Atlantic... Binomial name Pleuronectes platessa Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) are an abundant and commercially important flatfish occurring on the sandy bottoms of the European shelf. ... Binomial name Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758 Atlantic salmon, known scientifically as Salmo salar, is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the Atlantic. ... A parasite is an organism that lives in or on the living tissue of a host organism at the expense of it. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Mangroves

Another important brackish water habitat is the mangrove swamp or mangal. Many, though not all, mangrove swamps fringe estuaries and lagoon where the salinity changes with each tide. Among the most specialised residents of mangrove forests are mudskippers, fish that forage for food on land, and archer fish, perch-like fish that "spit" at insects and other small animals living in the trees, knocking them into the water where they can be eaten. Like estuaries, mangrove swamps are extremely important breeding grounds for many fish, with species such as snappers, halfbeaks, and tarpon spawning or maturing among them. Besides fish, numerous other animals use mangroves, including such specialists as the American crocodile, proboscis monkey, diamondback terrapin, and the crab-eating frog, Rana cancrivora. Although often plagued with mosquitoes and other insects that make them unpleasant places to visit, mangrove swamps are very important buffer zones between land and sea, and are a natural defense against hurricane and tsunami damage in particular [4]. Mangrove swamps are a characteristic for the tropical and subtropical coasts. ... Genera Apocryptes Apocryptodon Boleophthalmus Oxuderces Parapocryptes Periophthalmodon Periophthalmus Pseudapocryptes Scartelaos Zappa (genus) Mudskippers are members of the subfamily Oxudercinae (tribe: Periophthalmini[1]), within the family Gobiidae (Gobies). ... Species Toxotes blythii Toxotes chatareus Toxotes jaculatrix Toxotes lorentzi Toxotes microlepis Toxotes oligolepis Toxotes jaculatrix The archerfishes (also seen as archer fish) are a family (Toxotidae) of fish notable for their habit of preying on insects and other animals by shooting them down with squirts of water from the mouth. ... Genera Aphareus Aprion Apsilus Etelis Hemilutjanus Hoplopagrus Lipocheilus Lutjanus Macolor Ocyurus Paracaesio Pinjalo Pristipomoides Randallichthys Rhomboplites Symphorus Snapper can also refer to the Snapping turtle. ... Genera Arrhamphus Chriodorus Dermogenys Euleptorhamphus Hemirhamphodon Hemiramphus Hyporhamphus Melapedalion Nomorhamphus Oxyporhamphus Rhynchorhamphus Reporhamphus Tondanichthys Zenarchopterus Halfbeaks (family Hemiramphidae) are close relatives of the flyingfishes and members of the same order, the Beloniformes. ... Species See text. ... Binomial name (Cuvier, 1807) The American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is one of the four species of New World crocodile and the most wide-spread in range. ... Binomial name Wurmb, 1787 The Proboscis Monkey, Nasalis larvatus also known as Long-nosed Monkey is a reddish-brown arboreal Old World monkey. ... Binomial name Schoepf, 1793 Synonyms Emys Concentrica Testudo concentrata Testudo ocellata Testudo terrapin The Diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is a species of turtle native to the brackish coastal swamps of the eastern and southern United States, from as far north as Cape Cod, Massachusetts and as far south as Corpus... This article is about the insect; for the WWII aircraft see De Havilland Mosquito. ...

Brackish seas and lakes

Some seas and lakes are brackish. The Baltic Sea is a brackish sea adjoining the North Sea. Originally the confluence of two major river systems prior to the Pleistocene, since that it has been flooded by the North Sea but still receives so much freshwater from the adjacent lands that the water is brackish. Because the salt water coming in from the sea is more dense than freshwater, the water in the Baltic is stratified, with salt water at the bottom and freshwater at the top. Limited mixing occurs because of the lack of tides and storms, with the result that the fish fauna at the surface is freshwater in composition while that lower down is more marine. Cod are an example of a species only found in deep water in the Baltic, while pike are confined to the less saline surface waters [5]. The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53Â°N to 66Â°N latitude and from 20Â°E to 26Â°E longitude. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... Look up confluence in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the worlds recent period of repeated glaciations. ... COD may refer to many different topics, including: Cash on delivery Completion of discharge, shipping College of DuPage, a public Junior College with campuses in the suburbs of Chicago Call of Duty (series), a series of computer games Canadian Oxford Dictionary Carrier onboard delivery Catastrophic optical damage, a failure mode...

The Caspian Sea is the world's largest lake and contains brackish water with a salinity about one-third that of normal seawater. The Caspian is famous for its peculiar animal fauna, including one of the few non-marine seals (the Caspian seal) and the great sturgeons, a major source of caviar. The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the worlds largest lake or a full-fledged sea. ... Binomial name Pusa caspica (Gmelin, 1788) Caspian seals (Pusa caspica), one of the smallest members of the true seal family, are unique in that they are found exclusively in the brackish Caspian Sea. ... Sturgeon is a term for a genus of fish (Acipenser) of which 26 species are known. ... For the band of the same name, see Caviar (band). ...

Notable brackish bodies of water (by type, in alphabetical order)

Brackish water lakes The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53Â°N to 66Â°N latitude and from 20Â°E to 26Â°E longitude. ... For other uses, see Black Sea (disambiguation). ... The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the worlds largest lake or a full-fledged sea. ...

Coastal lagoons, marshes, and deltas Lake Charles is a freshwater lake located on the Calcasieu River in Southwest Louisiana just behind the western tier of the City of Lake Charles city limits. ... Lake Charles is a city located in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 71,757. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic - President George Walker Bush (R) - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Chilka Lake (also Chilika Lake) is a brackish water coastal lake in Indias Orissa state, south of the mouth of the Mahanadi River. ... , Orissa (Oriya: à¬“à¬¡à¬¼à¬¿à¬¶à¬¾), is a state situated on the east coast of India. ... Pangong Tso Pangong Tso is a lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4500m. ... , Ladakh (Tibetan script: à½£à¼‹à½‘à¾à½‚à½¦à¼‹; Wylie: la-dwags, Ladakhi IPA: , Hindi: à¤²à¤¦à¥à¤¦à¤¾à¤–à¤¼, Hindi IPA: , Urdu: Ù„Ø¯Ù‘Ø§Ø®; land of high passes) is a region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in Northern India sandwiched between the Kuen Lun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people... This article is about the area controlled by India. ... Lake Van Landsat photo A number of sources report that Lake Van shelters a monster (Monster of Lake Van-Van GÃ¶lÃ¼ CanavarÄ±), and a 4-meter high statue has been erected to its honor. ... Lake Monroe may refer to one of the following lakes: Lake Monroe in Florida, a lake on the St. ...

Estuaries The Burgas Lakes (Ð‘ÑƒÑ€Ð³Ð°ÑÐºÐ¸ ÐµÐ·ÐµÑ€Ð°) or Burgas Wetlands (Ð‘ÑƒÑ€Ð³Ð°ÑÐºÐ¸ Ð²Ð»Ð°Ð¶Ð½Ð¸ Ð·Ð¾Ð½Ð¸) are a group of coastal lakes of varying saltiness located around the Bulgarian city of Burgas in the proximity of the Black Sea. ... The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast covers the whole eastern border of Bulgaria. ... Kaliveli Lake is a brackish-water coastal lake in Viluppuram District of Tamil Nadu, India. ... Pondicherry (पॉंडिचेरी in Hindi), currently undergoing a name change to Puduchery, is the name of a union territory and its capital in the south of India. ... Map of Backwaters in Kerala The Kerala Backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. ... Lagos Lagoon is a lagoon located in Lagos, Nigeria. ... Lake Pontchartrains north shore at Fontainebleau State Park near Mandeville, Louisiana in 2004 Lake Pontchartrain (local English pronunciation ) (French: Lac Pontchartrain, pronounced ) is a brackish lake located in southeastern Louisiana. ... NOLA redirects here. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic - President George Walker Bush (R) - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Pulicat Lake (Pazhaverkaadu in Tamil) is a brackish-water lake on the Coromandel Coast of southeastern India. ... , â€œMadrasâ€ redirects here. ... Rann of Kutch on the Top Left. ... The RhÃ´ne River, or the RhÃ´ne (French RhÃ´ne, Arpitan RÃ´no, Occitan RÃ²se, standard German Rhone, Valais German Rotten), is one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France. ... Shoreline of the Ã‰tang de VaccarÃ¨s For other uses, see Camargue (disambiguation). ...

This article is about the river. ... The Chesapeake Bay - Landsat photo The Chesapeake Bay where the Susquehanna River empties into it. ... Official language(s) None (English, de facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area Ranked 42nd - Total 12,407 sq mi (32,133 kmÂ²) - Width 101 miles (145 km) - Length 249 miles (400 km) - % water 21 - Latitude 37Â° 53â€² N to 39Â° 43â€² N - Longitude 75Â° 03â€² W to 79Â° 29... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic - President George Walker Bush (R) - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is a large esturarial inlet of the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Delaware River along the coast of the United States. ... For the Delaware River in Kansas, see Delaware River (Kansas) The Delaware River is a river on the Atlantic coast of the United States. ... â€œNJâ€ redirects here. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Delaware. ... Chesil Beach from Fortuneswell Chesil Beach (sometimes called Chesil Bank) is a 18 mile (29km) long, 200 metre wide and 18 metre high shingle tombolo in Dorset, southern England. ... This mid bay barrier in Narrabeen, a suburb of Sydney (Australia), has blocked what used to be a bay to form a lagoon. ... Dorset (pronounced DOR-sit or [dÉ”.sÉ™t], and sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the south-west of England, on the English Channel coast. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This view from space in July 1996 shows portions of each of the Seven Cities of Hampton Roads which generally surround the harbor area of Hampton Roads, which framed by the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel visible to the east (right), the Virginia Peninsula subregion to the north (top), and the... This article is about the U.S. state. ... The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk in Mahican or as the Lenape Native Americans called it in Unami, Muhheakantuck, is a river that runs through the eastern portion of New York State and, along its southern terminus, demarcates the border between the states of New York and... This article is about the state. ... â€œNJâ€ redirects here. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic - President George Walker Bush (R) - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Not to be confused with the former Kwantung Leased Territory in north-eastern China. ... Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston(1670-1789) Columbia(1790-present) Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area Ranked 40th - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 kmÂ²) - Width 200 miles (320 km) - Length 260 miles (420 km) - % water 6 - Latitude 32Â° 2â€² N to 35Â° 13â€² N - Longitude... TheSaint Lawrence River (In French: fleuve Saint-Laurent) is a large west-to-east flowing river in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. ... The Saguenay River is a major river of Quebec, Canada. ... Nickname: Motto: Don de Dieu feray valoir (I shall put Gods gift to good use; the Don de Dieu was Champlains ship) Coordinates: , Country Province Agglomeration Quebec City Statute of the city Capitale-Nationale Administrative Region Capitale-Nationale Founded 1608 by Samuel de Champlain Constitution date 1833 Government... Saguenay (officially Ville de Saguenay) is a city (2001 population: 148,050) in the Saguenayâ€“Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, on the Saguenay River, about 200 kilometres north of Quebec City. ... The Thames Estuary is a large estuary where the River Thames flows into the North Sea. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Contents

Brackish water habitats

Estuaries

Mangroves

Brackish seas and lakes

Notable brackish bodies of water (by type, in alphabetical order)

See also