Abstract
The hydrological cycle begins and ends in the sea. The first stage in the cycle is evaporation of water from the surface of the sea and the last stage is the return of water to the sea through rivers. Most rivers enter the sea where there is enough tidal rise and fall to modify flow near their mouths. The part of the river system in which the river widens under the influence of tidal action is the estuary, but the behaviour of the estuary is influenced by the circulation of water and solids in the sea as well as by the whole tidal part of the river system. The estuary cannot be considered in isolation; the whole system has many inter-dependent parts, extending from the landward limit of the tidal rivers forming it to a point offshore beyond which the effect of an individual estuary on water circulation and sediment movement can no longer be discerned.
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© 1977 D. M. McDowell and B. A. O’Connor
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McDowell, D.M., O’Connor, B.A. (1977). A general description of estuarine behaviour. In: Hydraulic Behaviour of Estuaries. Civil Engineering Hydraulics Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-01118-6_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-01118-6_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-01120-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-01118-6
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