Some factors governing the water quality of microtidal estuaries in South Africa

The role of coastal geomorphology and Man-made alterations, including reduced river flow through dam construction, determines, at least in part, the water quality of South African microtidal estuaries. To offer increased understanding of the manner in which these features may modify water quality, a short description of the biogeochemical processes in estuaries is provided. Comment on the present limitations of modelling some of the estuarine processes in South African investigations is given. WaterSA Vol.27(3) 2001: 373-386