Estuarine Biogeochemical Dynamics of the East Coast of India

Sourav Das & Tuhin Ghosh

Published in ‘Springer’

Abstract

Estuaries, located at the interface between land and coastal oceans, are dynamic, highly productive systems that, in many cases, have been historically associated with the development of many of the great centers of early human civilization. Biogeochemistry of estuaries offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to understanding biogeochemical cycling in estuaries. Estuary and river systems play a critical role in the natural self-regulation of Earth’s surface conditions by serving as a signifcant sink for anthropogenic CO2. Approximately 90% of global carbon burial occurs in ocean margins, and the majority of this carbon remains buried in large delta-front estuaries. Many of the existing books in estuarine science comprise a suite of edited volumes, typically focused on specifc topics in estuaries all over the world. However, the present book entitled Estuarine Biogeochemical Dynamics of the East Coast of India provides a unique foundation for the frst time on the east coast of India. This book utilizes numerous illustrations and an extensive literature base to impart the current state-of-the-art knowledge in this feld on the east coast of India adjacent to the Bay of Bengal. We collated chapters on geomorphology, carbon dynamics, bacterial population, estuarine pollution, and nutrient cycling of this region. The book also comprised the role of microbial diversity, microzooplankton variability in estuaries, CDOM dynamics of the east coast of India, and anthropogenic impacts of Indian Sundarbans (the largest mangrove forest in the world) with linkages to physical and biological processes in estuarine sciences. Consequentially, these systems have and continued to be severely impacted by anthropogenic inputs. This timely book can act as the foundational basis of elemental cycling in estuaries of the east coast of India and estuarine management issues. Estuarine and marine scientists, ecologists, biogeochemists, and environmentalists around India and other parts of the world would fnd interest in the present title. Intermediate to advanced level students can beneft by going through this book. This book presents both review and original study fndings involving estuaries on the east coast of India. The future state of all of these estuaries may be a sensitive indicator of shifts in global weather patterns.