Book excerpt: The Encyclopedia of Estuaries, part of Springer's Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, provides a single, state-of-the-art, comprehensive reference volume on estuaries for research scientists, educators, students, and others. Consisting of almost 270 subject entries in an easy-to-use format, this volume covers the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of estuaries. In total more than 225 authors from around the world have contributed to the encyclopedia on such diverse subjects as biotic communities, essential habitats, food webs, fisheries, hydrology, pollution, conservation, and many more. The Encyclopedia of Estuaries will meet the needs of professionals worldwide by supplying detailed information from world-class estuarine and marine scientists as well as experts from other fields of study.