(Multiple choice) Which of the following factors in an estuary is impacted the most by the daily tides?

Question

anonymous · Answer

water temperature

 salinity levels

 plant and animal diversity

 water quality


I have absolutely no idea, it could be any one of these!

alphadxg · Answer

I mean, you do have to understand what a Estuary is, right?

alphadxg · Answer

Estuaries are defined as semi-enclosed coastal bodies of water that have a free connection with the sea and within which sea water is measurably diluted

alphadxg · Answer

Ok, now we know that it is, I think we can rule out the second one, because it makes no sense on a specific way it will be a major contribution for the question, right?

alphadxg · Answer

And what I mean by the second one, was Animal Diversity, sorry, so the third one.

anonymous · Answer

Thank you so much! But the answer was salinity levels.

thomaster · Answer

@alphadxg It makes a lot of sense that the second one is the correct one. When the tide rises, more salt water will flow in the estuary and mix with the fresh water, meaning that the salinity level will slightly increase. Low tide means low influx of salt water so lower salinity.
The salinity in estuaries is also affected by the season and weather. For example in the spring, when snow melts (especially in mountainous areas), there will be more fresh water coming from the estuary side and so the salinity will drop.