Intertidal flats form an integral and important part of coastal systems, which have for centuries been usefully exploited by man for communication, transportation, waste disposal, power generation and amenity development. They provide an indispensable feeding ground for many species of shorebirds, play a vital role in protecting the shoreline against erosion by wave action, and they act as both a source and sink to sediments and pollutants and are therefore intrinsically related to the ecological health of the system as well as its geomorphology. It is thus important that we monitor these environments, and build up a comprehensive picture of the dynamic processes that have produced and now modify these environments. This book brings together geoscientists, chemists and biologists working on the intertidal zones of European estuaries and coasts.