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The Patos Lagoon Estuary, Brazil

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Coastal Marine Ecosystems of Latin America

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 144))

Abstract

The dominant feature of the southern Brazilian coastal plain is the Patos-Mirim Lagoon complex, the Patos Lagoon (10,360 km2) being the world’s largest choked lagoon. About 80% of the lagoon is a freshwater system but at its southern reach (32°S), where the lagoon connects to the Atlantic Ocean, brackish waters and fringing marshes comprise an estuarine ecosystem of approximately 1,000 km2 (Fig. 12.1). The estuary performs critical interface functions between the limnic areas of the Patos Lagoon and the shelf waters of Subtropical Convergence regions in the southwestern Atlantic. The passage of continental freshwater runoff from the drainage basin (~200,000 km2) through the estuary and the intrusion of seawater into it establish the physico-chemical characteristics which control ecological processes and vital habitats for the successful reproduction and/or growth of many commercially important marine species which visit the estuary periodically.

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Authors
  1. U. Seeliger
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Depto. de Oceanografia, Universidade do Rio Grande, Av. Italia km 8, 96201-900, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil

    Ulrich Seeliger

  2. Marine Science Program, Department of Geological Sciences, and the Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Research, University of South Carolina, Earth and Water Sciences Building 508 a, 29208, Columbia, SC, USA

    Björn Kjerfve

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© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Seeliger, U. (2001). The Patos Lagoon Estuary, Brazil. In: Seeliger, U., Kjerfve, B. (eds) Coastal Marine Ecosystems of Latin America. Ecological Studies, vol 144. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04482-7_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04482-7_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-08657-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-04482-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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