ABSTRACT
The effects of water pollution, and their consequences for public health, became obvious in lakes and rivers long before any general threat to estuaries and seas was widely perceived. Consequently the methodology and literature relating to the study of estuarine and marine pollution are less well developed, and many of the basic approaches to the study of pollution in maritime habitats are derived from ideas developed for freshwater habitats. Certainly, the answers sought from the study of freshwater, marine and estuarine habitats are essentially the same; nevertheless there are significant physical, chemical and biological differences between freshwater and maritime environments. Because of these differences, the technical and conceptual approach to the study of pollution in maritime habitats must be different, at least in emphasis, to that which is appropriate to the study of fresh waters. This chapter introduces some of the special problems of pollution which occur in estuaries and in the sea, and considers the extent to which the concepts and methodology which are appropriate for fresh waters can be applied to the study of pollution in maritime habitats. A good general introduction to the problems of marine pollution is given by Clark (1992), and more detailed reviews of some important aspects may be found in Kinne (1984a, b) and Preston (1989).
