Salt marshes are coastal wetlands that are flooded and drained by salt water brought in by the tides. They are marshy because the soil may be composed of deep mud and peat. Peat is made of decomposing plant matter that is often several feet thick. Peat is waterlogged, root-filled, and very spongy. Because salt marshes are frequently submerged by the tides and contain a lot of decomposing plant material, oxygen levels in the peat can be extremely low—a condition called hypoxia. Hypoxia is caused by the growth of bacteria which produce the sulfurous rotten-egg smell that is often associated with marshes and mud flats.

Salt marshes occur worldwide, particularly in middle to high latitudes. Thriving along protected shorelines, they are a common habitat in estuaries. In the U.S., salt marshes can be found on every coast. Approximately half of the nation's salt marshes are located along the Gulf Coast.

These intertidal habitats are essential for healthy fisheries, coastlines, and communities—and they are an integral part of our economy and culture. They also provide essential food, refuge or nursery habitat for more than 75 percent of fisheries species, including shrimp, blue crab, and many finfish.

Salt marshes also protect shorelines from erosion by buffering wave action and trapping sediments. They reduce flooding by slowing and absorbing rainwater and protect water quality by filtering runoff, and by metabolizing excess nutrients.

For more information

Coastal Programs: Partnering with States to Manage Our Coastline
The Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program
Office of Ocean & Coastal Resource Management
Salt Marshes (NOS Education)

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The National Estuarine Research Reserve System is a network of 28 areas representing different biogeographic regions of the United States. The reserves are protected for long-term research, water quality monitoring, education, and coastal stewardship. Each reserve is managed on a daily basis by a lead state agency or university, with input from local partners. NOAA provides funding, national guidance, and technical assistance.

Reserve staff work with local communities and regional groups to address natural resource management issues, such as non-point source pollution, habitat restoration, and invasive species. Through integrated research and education, the reserves help communities develop strategies to deal successfully with their coastal resource issues.

Reserves provide adult audiences with training on estuarine issues of concern in their local communities. They also offer field classes for K-12 students and support teachers through professional development programs in marine education.

For more information:
NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve System
NOS Topic Page: National Estuarine Research Reserves
Estuaries.gov
Estuaries (Diving Deeper podcast, 4.20.09)
Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management

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The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and is one of the most productive bodies of water in the world.

The Chesapeake watershed* spans 64,000 squares miles, covering parts of six states — Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Over 17 million people live in this area.

(*A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place.)

The estuary and its network of streams, creeks and rivers hold tremendous ecological, cultural, economic, historic, and recreational value for the region.

More than 250 fish species use the Bay and tributaries for some portion of their life cycles, including American and hickory shad, river herring, striped bass, eel, weakfish, bluefish, flounder, oysters, and blue crabs. More than 300 migratory bird species can also be found in the watershed. During the fall, the skies come alive as one million ducks, geese, and swans return to overwinter on the Chesapeake.

The Chesapeake watershed is a complex network of wetlands, forests, fields, streams, underwater grasses, and mudflats that provide thousands of species of plants, fish, and wildlife with the places they need to find food, shelter, reproduce, and rear their young. The Chesapeake also provides "habitat highways" for Atlantic Coast fish populations and birds migrating along the Atlantic Flyway. These habitats play an important role in filtering pollution before it enters waterways.

Bay wetlands serve as holding tanks and water filters for coastal storm surge and heavy rainfall and help prevent costly flood damage. Forest buffers along streams and shorelines provide shade to keep streams cool, food for aquatic organisms and corridors for wildlife movement. Streams are the arteries that connect the watershed and provide not only passage for fish, but also a physical connection from every local community to the Bay.

Today, the Bay and its tributaries are in poor health, with polluted water, low populations of fish and shellfish, degraded habitats, and landscapes lost to development. In recognition of this, President Obama issued an Executive Order in 2009 to protect and restore this important area. In the Order, the President declared the Chesapeake Bay a "national treasure" and ushered in a new era of federal leadership, action and accountability to "protect and restore the health, heritage, natural resources, and social and economic value of the nation's largest estuarine ecosystem and the natural sustainability of its watershed."

For more information:
Estuaries.Gov
National Estuarine Research Reserve System
Estuaries, NOS Education
NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office
Cooperative Oxford Laboratory
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Estuaries are tidally driven. Tides flush the system and provide nutrients to keep food webs functional. By doing this, tides create constantly changing conditions of exposure to air or increased levels of water in an estuarine environment. Because of tides, the water levels in an estuary are going up and down several times a day.

Estuarine organisms can adapt quite well to these changing conditions in estuaries. For example, fish or crabs are mobile and can move as needed throughout the day to adjust to changes in the estuary.

In addition, weather patterns, seasonal cycles, and climate change also affect and can change conditions in estuaries.

Estuaries and their surrounding wetlands are bodies of water usually found where rivers meet the sea. Estuaries are home to unique plant and animal communities that have adapted to brackish water.

For more information:
Estuaries.gov - About Estuaries
Estuaries (Diving Deeper podcast, 4.22.09)
National Estuarine Research Reserve System
Estuaries, NOS Education

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Estuaries - areas where fresh and saltwater mix - are made up of many different types of habitats. These habitats can include oyster reefs, coral reefs, rocky shores, submerged aquatic vegetation, marshes, and mangroves. There are also different animals that live in each of these different habitats. Fish, shellfish, and migratory birds are just a few of the animals that can live in an estuary.

For example, there are several habitats that make up the Chesapeake Bay. There are oyster reefs where oysters, mud crabs, and small fish may be found. Also in the Chesapeake Bay, there is submerged aquatic vegetation where seahorses, blue crabs, and other fish live. Finally, there is open water where sea turtles or rays can be found.

For more information:
Esturaries.gov - Life in an Estuary
Diving Deeper, Episode (Apr. 22, 2009) – What is an estuary?
National Estuarine Research Reserve System
Estuaries, NOS Education

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Estuaries and their surrounding wetlands are bodies of water usually found where rivers meet the sea. Estuaries are home to unique plant and animal communities that have adapted to brackish water — a mixture of fresh water draining from the land and salty seawater.

Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Many animals rely on estuaries for food, places to breed, and migration stopovers.

Human communities also rely on estuaries for food, recreation, jobs, and coastal protection. Of the 32 largest cities in the world, 22 are located on estuaries!

Estuaries are delicate ecosystems. Congress created the National Estuarine Research Reserve System to protect more than one million acres of estuarine land and water. These estuarine reserves provide essential habitat for wildlife, offer educational opportunities for students, and serve as living laboratories for scientists.

 

For more information:
Esturaries.Gov
National Estuarine Research Reserve System
Estuaries, NOS Education

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