ABSTRACT
Estuaries are valuable ecosystems for flora, fauna, and human beings. Society, as we know today, has a part of its history related to these environments where prosperous civilization developed. Estuaries, more specifically deltas and flood plains, provide rich soil for agriculture, due to fine sediments deposited on the banks and fishery stocks. There are many factors that influence sediment dynamic and availability as tides, river discharge, wind, waves, dredging, and superficial flow in adjacent land. The wind is an important energy source for the system. In estuaries, the wind may generate waves that stir sediment from the bottom. The sediment budget and suspended sediment concentration defines the estuary habitat. Salt marshes are mud flats colonized by macrophytes vegetation located in the intertidal zone of an estuary. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
