The economy of many coastal areas is based primarily on the natural beauty and bounty of estuaries. When those natural resources are imperiled, so too are the livelihoods of those who live and work in estuarine watersheds. Over half the U.S. population lives in coastal areas, including along the shores of estuaries. Coastal watershed counties provided 69 million jobs and contributed $7.9 trillion to the Gross Domestic Product in 2007 (National Ocean Economics Program, 2009).
Coastal counties are growing three times faster than counties elsewhere in the nation. Unfortunately, this increasing concentration of people upsets the natural balance of estuarine ecosystems, threatens their integrity, and imposes increased pressures on vital natural resources like estuaries. What happens on the land affects the quality of the water and health of the organisms that live in an estuary. For example, if a river or stream flows through an agricultural area, it picks up fertilizer, manure, and pesticides from farming operations that run off the land after a rainstorm. As it passes urbanized and suburbanized areas, it gathers fertilizers or pet waste that wash off lawns, untreated sewage from failing septic tanks, wastewater discharges from industrial facilities, sediment from construction sites, and runoff from impervious surfaces like parking lots
Coastal counties are growing three times faster than counties elsewhere in the nation. Unfortunately, this increasing concentration of people upsets the natural balance of estuarine ecosystems, threatens their integrity, and imposes increased pressures on vital natural resources like estuaries. What happens on the land affects the quality of the water and health of the organisms that live in an estuary. For example, if a river or stream flows through an agricultural area, it picks up fertilizer, manure, and pesticides from farming operations that run off the land after a rainstorm. As it passes urbanized and suburbanized areas, it gathers fertilizers or pet waste that wash off lawns, untreated sewage from failing septic tanks, wastewater discharges from industrial facilities, sediment from construction sites, and runoff from impervious surfaces like parking lots
Where are estuary located
Estuaries come in all shapes and sizes and go by many different names, often known as bays, lagoons, harbors, inlets, or sounds. (Note not all water bodies by those names are necessarily estuaries. The defining feature of an estuary is the mixing of fresh and salt water, not the name.) Some familiar examples of estuaries include San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound, Chesapeake Bay, Boston Harbor, and Tampa Bay.
What are the weather conditions
the weather conditions are from -1 degrees to -18 degrees
Estuaries come in all shapes and sizes and go by many different names, often known as bays, lagoons, harbors, inlets, or sounds. (Note not all water bodies by those names are necessarily estuaries. The defining feature of an estuary is the mixing of fresh and salt water, not the name.) Some familiar examples of estuaries include San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound, Chesapeake Bay, Boston Harbor, and Tampa Bay.
What are the weather conditions
the weather conditions are from -1 degrees to -18 degrees