Estuaries.noaa.gov - Inspiring People to Practice and Promote Coastal and Estuarine Stewardship

	Easy-To-Use Visualizations for Teaching About Estuaries

Use Images, Animations and Models to Illustrate an Estuarine Principle or Concept

Visualizing an estuary, its processes, and changes over time is key to helping explain the functioning of an estuarine system. Use these visualizations - animations, maps, images, diagrams and others - to represent, explain ideas and explore data.

Title	Topics	Description	Credits

Examine Earth from Space & Locate NOAA's Estuarine Reserves [link]	Earth, NERR sites, map	The eastern half of North America as viewed from space & NERRS sites identified.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

Observe changes in the tidal range at the Elkhorn Slough NERR, CA [link]	Tide cycle	This series of images shows the remarkable daily rise of waters at the Elkhorn Slough NERR in California.	Elkhorn Slough NERR, California

Observe changes in the tidal range near Kachemak Bay NERR, AK [link]	Tide cycle	The video gives perspective of changes in water level experienced at the Kachemak Bay NERR, Alaska	Kachemak Bay NERR, Alaska

Observe an animation that shows the role of the salt marsh as a filter [link]	Salt marsh / filter/ pollutants	Groundwaters flow into the salt marsh from the surrounding drainage area, marsh grasses and the surrounding peat extract excess pollutants and nutrients from it.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

Observe an animation of coastal plain estuary formation [link]	Type of estuary	Animation shows rising waters flood a low-lying river valley, creating a coastal plain estuary.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

Observe an animation of bar-built/sandbar estuary formation [link]	Type of estuary	Animation shows ocean waves moving sediments shoreward, as the sediments build up, they form sandbars.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

Observe an animation of tectonic estuary formation [link]	Type of estuary	Animation of tectonic estuary formation.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

Observe the Mississippi Delta as viewed from space [link]	Delta / Type of estuary	Image of the Mississippi Delta as viewed from space.	Weeks Bay NERR, Alabama

Observe a satellite image of Glacier Bay, AK [link]	Fjords / Type of estuary	Satellite image of Glacier Bay Alaska showing characteristic long narrow fjords that have been carved out of the surrounding terrain by advancing glaciers.	NASA.gov Web site (public domain)

Examine an animation of water flow in salt-wedge estuary. [link]	Water flow / Salt-wedge estuary	Animation of water flow in salt-wedge estuary.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

Examine an animation of water flow in a fjord-type estuary. [link]	Water flow / fjord-type estuary	Animation of water flow in a fjord-type estuary.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

Examine an animation of water flow in a slightly stratified estuary. [link]	Water flow / stratified estuary	Animation of water flow in a slight stratifed estuary.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

Examine an animation of water flow in a vertically mixed estuary. [link]	Water flow / vertucally mixed estuary	Animation of water flow in a vertically mixed estuary.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

Examine an animation of salt marsh environment during tidal cycle. [link]	Tide cycle / salt marsh	Animation of salt marsh environment during tidal cycle showing low, medium, and high tidal regions as well as vertical and horizontal distribution of flora.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

View the distribution of blue crab in different salinity zones of an estuary during each stage of its life cycle. [link]	Salinity/adaptation/blue crabs	Blue crabs are mobile predators whose salinity requirements change at different stages in their lives.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

View an animation of secci disk dissappearing in water due to turbidity. [link]	Turbidity/monitoring	Turbidity is essentially a measurement of how cloudy or clear the water is, or, in other words, how easily light can be transmitted through it. The animation represents the idea that the cloudier the water, the greater the turbidity.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

View an animation of a "parcel of water" as its pH changes from acidic to alkaline. [link]	ph/monitoring	Knowledge of pH is important because most aquatic organisms are adapted to live in solutions with a pH between 5.0 and 9.0. This animation shows a "parcel of water" as the pH changes from acidic to alkaline.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

Examine this animation representing what happens when the concentration of microscopic green algae, and therefore chlorophyll, increases in a body of water. [link]	Chlorophyll/monitoring	Chlorophyll is a green pigment in plants that turns light energy into food and allows plants to grow, and releases oxygen in a process called photosynthesis.This animation represents what happens when the concentration of microscopic green algae, and therefore chlorophyll, increases in a body of water.	NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education

Most of these visualizations were developed in collaboration with NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Education and NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Services, unless otherwise noted. Special thanks go to Bruce Moravich (NOS) and Dan Pisut (NESDIS) for supporting our efforts in advancing understanding about estuarine systems.

Last Updated on: 06-07-2011