ABSTRACT
Man is a creature closely linked to the coastal areas for many reasons. Some 70% of the earth’s population live within coastal zones, with the large portion of that population within a few kilometers of saltwater. Historically, as well as today, the saltwater seas are the main access to both the products of seas, as well as the lands beyond, a natural location for the development of commerce, habitation, and industrialization. This heavy concentration of mankind and his activities creates many anthropogenic products detrimental to the environment and to man himself. Much of this environmental impact moves into the groundwater system as a natural consequence of the hydrologic cycle. The impact of civilization is most keenly recognized in the more confined and poorly flushed estuaries, bays, and coastal lagoons.
