Estuarine Classification

The Estuary Environment Classification (Hume et al. 2007; 2003) provides a framework for classifying New Zealand’s estuaries. This controlling factors classification is based on broad scale physical components of the landscape or ‘controlling factors’ such as climate, oceanic and riverine conditions, and catchment characteristics that cause or ‘control’ differences and similarities in the physical and biological characteristics of estuaries. The classification differentiates estuaries at 3 levels of detail. Level 1 differentiates global scale variation based on differences in climatic and oceanic processes, which are discriminated by the factors: latitude, oceanic basins and large landmasses. Level 2 differentiates estuaries into 8 categories (or estuary types ) on the basis of variation in estuary hydrodynamic processes, whic

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Terry Hume (NIWA). . https://dc.niwa.co.nz:/niwa_dc/srv/api/records/9f2eb718-f96b-f993-9b20-eef47116650f

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Date ( Creation ): 2011-03-24T11:28:00

Date ( Revision ): 2011-03-24T11:28:00

Purpose: The classification uses a broad definition for estuaries to include the many different types of coastal water bodies that need to be managed. It follows Day’s (1981) variation of Pritchard’s (1967) definition and defines an estuary as: “A partially enclosed coastal body of water that is either permanently or periodically open to the sea in which the aquatic ecosystem is affected by the physical and chemical characteristics of both runoff from the land and inflow from the sea”. This definition includes estuary types and coastal water bodies described in other New Zealand classifications (e.g., Healy and Kirk 1982, Hume and Herdendorf 1986, 1993) as drowned river valleys, lagoons, coastal lakes, fjords, and river mouths. It includes features variously named on the NZMS 1:50,000 topographic maps as estuary, creek, firth, inlet, gulf, cove, river, bay, lagoon, harbour, stream, fjord, sound, port, arm, small craft retreat, haven, and basin.