The contributors examine the susceptibility of coastal lagoons to eutrophication, the indicators of eutrophic conditions, the influences of natural factors such as major storms, droughts and other climate effects, and the resulting biotic and ecosystem impairments that have developed worldwide. They provide detailed descriptions of the physical-chemical and biotic characteristics of diverse coastal lagoonal ecosystems, and address the environmental factors, forcing features, and stressors affecting hydrologic, biogeochemical, and trophic properties of these important water bodies. They also discuss the innovative tools and approaches used for assessing ecological change in the context of anthropogenically- and climatically-mediated factors. The book investigates the biogeochemical and ecological responses to nutrient enrichment and other pollutants in lagoonal estuaries and compares them to those in other estuarine types.

With editors among the most noted international scholars in coastal ecology and contributors who are world-class in their fields, the chapters in this volume represent a wide array of studies on natural and anthropogenic drivers of change in coastal lagoons located in different regions of the world. Although a significant number of journal articles on the subject can be found in the literature, this book provides a single-source reference for coastal lagoons within the arena of the global environment.