The dérive's goals include studying the terrain of the city (psychogeography) and emotional disorientation, both of which lead to the potential creation of Situations. That the most fruitful numerical arrangement consists of several small groups of two or three people who have reached the same level of awareness, since cross-checking these different groups' impressions makes it possible to arrive at more objective conclusions. Though solo dérives are possible, Debord indicates Debord defines the dérive as "a mode of experimental behaviour linked to the conditions of urban society: a technique of rapid passage through varied ambiances." It is an unplanned journey through a landscape, usually urban, in which participants drop their everyday relations and "let themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there". The dérive ( French:, "drift") is a revolutionary strategy originally put forward in the "Theory of the Dérive" (1956) by Guy Debord, a member at the time of the Letterist International. So visit an estuary and experience firsthand the beauty and wildlife where the river meets the sea.A 2004 poster announcing a large-scale dérive in London, led by a psychogeographical society The Chesapeake Bay, the ACE Basin in South Carolina, and San Francisco Bay in California, are just a few of the 28 reserves that can be found near you. These studies provide strong scientific knowledge to help us create healthy, productive estuaries. At the reserves, scientists study sea level rise, water pollution, erosion, and impacts of human development. These valuable reserves are living laboratories for scientists and exciting, hands-on classrooms for students and teachers.
NOAA works closely with coastal states to manage the National Estuarine Research Reserve System of 28 protected areas along the nation’s coasts.
Estuaries are lined with marshes and sea grasses that filter water flowing to the ocean and act as a buffer protecting us from coastal storms. This salty freshwater mix is where life begins and is the nursing grounds for 75% of the fish we catch. Miles of beaches, flowing grasses, marshes, creeks, and streams. A popular destination for fishing, boating, birding and hiking, estuaries are a beautiful place to be. Where freshwater rivers meet the salty open sea. These estuarine reserves provide essential habitat for wildlife, offer educational opportunities for students, and serve as living laboratories for scientists.Įstuaries: Where the River Meets the Sea. Congress created the National Estuarine Research Reserve System to protect more than one million acres of estuarine land and water. Many animals rely on estuaries for food, places to breed, and migration stopovers.Įstuaries are delicate ecosystems. These freshwater estuaries also provide many of the ecosystem services and functions that brackish estuaries do, such as serving as natural filters for runoff and providing nursery grounds for many species of birds, fish, and other animals.Įstuaries are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. For example, along the Great Lakes, river water with very different chemical and physical characteristics mixes with lake water in coastal wetlands that are affected by tides and storms just like estuaries along the oceanic coasts. However, there are also several types of entirely freshwater ecosystems that have many similar characteristics to the traditional brackish estuaries. Estuaries are home to unique plant and animal communities that have adapted to brackish water-a mixture of fresh water draining from the land and salty seawater. Estuaries and their surrounding wetlands are bodies of water usually found where rivers meet the sea.