The notion of limnology refers to the scientific discipline that is dedicated to carrying out research on lagoons and lakes . The specialization of biology focused on fresh waters is also called limnology.
Limnology, in this framework, studies how aquatic beings interact with the environment . In a broad sense, it analyzes all continental aquatic ecosystems , including rivers and groundwater .
Due to the relevance of continental waters for human subsistence, limnology has great significance. Your contributions contribute to the preservation and management of these resources.
Considered an area of ecology , limnology brings together knowledge of chemistry , physics , biology, civil engineering , mathematics, sociology, landscape architecture, statistics, environmental engineering and other sciences. In other words, it is a multidisciplinary discipline. Experts are working to identify the organisms that live in these aquatic environments and understand their characteristics and interactions.
Limnology professionals, in this way, carry out field tasks and process the data obtained. They also carry out actions in laboratories to develop experiments and analyzes that contribute to the understanding of the environments they study. Until 1922, the International Association of Limnology included in its studies epicontinental waters, large but shallow salt masses.
The knowledge generated by limnology makes it possible to diagnose problems that affect continental aquatic ecosystems (such as pollution or the advance of invasive species). They are even essential for the planning and execution of your solutions.
So far we have mentioned most of the continental aquatic ecosystems of interest for limnology, however we have not offered a description of each one. Let's start with the lake , a large body of water that is not linked to the sea. It is usually sweet. It receives water from rain, underground layers and rivers.
The formation of lakes takes place in depressions that arise from various geological processes, among which mass movements, tectonics, the action of glaciers, the formation of bars and volcanic activity stand out, although it can also be caused by the crash of a meteorite on the Earth's surface. Of course, humans can create lakes artificially by building a dam.
The lagoon , on the other hand, is a natural type deposit, which is also usually fresh but its dimensions are smaller, particularly its depth . If a barrier separates them from the sea, they are known as coastal lagoons . If, however, nothing separates them, we speak of lagoons . Its formation can take place in a similar way to that of lakes.
We must also mention rivers , natural currents with a continuous channel and mouth into another river, a lake, the sea or even in deserts, where water infiltrates and evaporates. Its flow is not usually constant. Among the most important rivers in the world are the Amazon , the Nile , the Orinoco , the Mississippi-Missouri , and the Guadalquivir .
Limnology also studies ponds (also known by the masculine term charcos ), which are usually defined from a stream or a ravine . Unlike a river or a lake, it is not an imposing ecosystem; On the contrary, since their dimensions are not considerable at all, they are usually found by explorers "by chance."
There are, worldwide, various institutions that bring together specialists in limnology. One of them is the Argentine Association of Limnology , known by its acronym AAL , which was founded in 1984 and since then has been dedicated to publishing newsletters and organizing meetings, workshops and other events.