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72-683: The Malay word kuala refers to an estuary , therefore its name would translate to the mouth of the Belait River . Before 1909, Kuala Belait was a small fishing village with little development. Although oil exploration began in the Belait District as early as 1911, and some oil was found in Labi in 1914, it had minimal impact on Kuala Belait’s growth at that time. However, the discovery of oil in Labi convinced prospectors that further deposits might be found along

144-467: A kampong -level administrative division. All of the villages constitute almost all of Mukim Kuala Belait, a subdistrict of Belait. The town of Kuala Belait is administered under Jabatan Bandaran Kuala Belait dan Seria (Kuala Belait and Seria Municipal Department), a government department under Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri (the Ministry of Home Affairs). The department comprises Lembaga Bandaran or

216-573: A harsh environment for organisms. Sediment often settles in intertidal mudflats which are extremely difficult to colonize. No points of attachment exist for algae , so vegetation based habitat is not established. Sediment can also clog feeding and respiratory structures of species, and special adaptations exist within mudflat species to cope with this problem. Lastly, dissolved oxygen variation can cause problems for life forms. Nutrient-rich sediment from human-made sources can promote primary production life cycles, perhaps leading to eventual decay removing

288-576: A key entry point to the upper reaches of the Belait River, and the government recognised its growing significance by establishing it as the headquarters of the Belait District that same year. In 1929, BMPC followed suit by relocating its headquarters to Kuala Belait, further boosting the town's development. The discovery of large oil reserves in Seria , in April 1929, significantly increased Kuala Belait’s importance as

360-529: A number of coastal water bodies such as coastal lagoons and brackish seas. A more comprehensive definition of an estuary is "a semi-enclosed body of water connected to the sea as far as the tidal limit or the salt intrusion limit and receiving freshwater runoff; however the freshwater inflow may not be perennial, the connection to the sea may be closed for part of the year and tidal influence may be negligible". This broad definition also includes fjords , lagoons , river mouths , and tidal creeks . An estuary

432-517: A population of 103, and is situated further upriver from Kuala Belait towards Kuala Balai. This was formerly a village of hunter-gatherers and fishermen . The modern day Kampong Rasau serves as a suburb of the nearby Kuala Belait. Villagers residing in Kampong Rasau can obtain a special permit to waive toll payment across the Rasau Bridge. This allows the villagers to conveniently travel across

504-530: A strategic hub for the oil industry. The Kuala Belait Sanitary Board was established in that same year, and this marked the transition of Kuala Belait from a village to a town. The 1930s marked a period of rapid growth for Kuala Belait, largely driven by the BMPC. In 1931, the town became the site of Brunei's first English school, and it also boasted the best hospital in the country at the time. Its population grew significantly, from 1,193 in 1931 to 3,000 by 1935, fueled by

576-408: A type of ecosystem in some estuaries that have been negatively impacted by eutrophication. Cordgrass vegetation dominates the salt marsh landscape. Excess nutrients allow the plants to grow at greater rates in above ground biomass, however less energy is allocated to the roots since nutrients is abundant. This leads to a lower biomass in the vegetation below ground which destabilizes the banks of

648-407: A variety of factors including soil erosion , deforestation , overgrazing , overfishing and the filling of wetlands. Eutrophication may lead to excessive nutrients from sewage and animal wastes; pollutants including heavy metals , polychlorinated biphenyls , radionuclides and hydrocarbons from sewage inputs; and diking or damming for flood control or water diversion. The word "estuary"

720-550: A well-mixed water column and the disappearance of the vertical salinity gradient . The freshwater-seawater boundary is eliminated due to the intense turbulent mixing and eddy effects . The lower reaches of Delaware Bay and the Raritan River in New Jersey are examples of vertically homogeneous estuaries. Inverse estuaries occur in dry climates where evaporation greatly exceeds the inflow of freshwater. A salinity maximum zone

792-436: A wholly marine embayment to any of the other estuary types. The most important variable characteristics of estuary water are the concentration of dissolved oxygen, salinity and sediment load. There is extreme spatial variability in salinity, with a range of near-zero at the tidal limit of tributary rivers to 3.4% at the estuary mouth. At any one point, the salinity will vary considerably over time and seasons, making it

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864-470: A wide effect on the surrounding water bodies.  In turn, this can decrease fishing industry sales in one area and across the country. Production in 2016 from recreational and commercial fishing contributes billions of dollars to the United States' gross domestic product (GDP). A decrease in production within this industry can affect any of the 1.7 million people the fishing industry employs yearly across

936-455: Is a dynamic ecosystem having a connection to the open sea through which the sea water enters with the rhythm of the tides . The effects of tides on estuaries can show nonlinear effects on the movement of water which can have important impacts on the ecosystem and waterflow. The seawater entering the estuary is diluted by the fresh water flowing from rivers and streams. The pattern of dilution varies between different estuaries and depends on

1008-509: Is derived from the Latin word aestuarium meaning tidal inlet of the sea, which in itself is derived from the term aestus , meaning tide. There have been many definitions proposed to describe an estuary. The most widely accepted definition is: "a semi-enclosed coastal body of water, which has a free connection with the open sea, and within which seawater is measurably diluted with freshwater derived from land drainage". However, this definition excludes

1080-411: Is formed, and both riverine and oceanic water flow close to the surface towards this zone. This water is pushed downward and spreads along the bottom in both the seaward and landward direction. Examples of an inverse estuary are Spencer Gulf , South Australia, Saloum River and Casamance River , Senegal. Estuary type varies dramatically depending on freshwater input, and is capable of changing from

1152-560: Is less restricted, and there is a slow but steady exchange of water between the estuary and the ocean. Fjord-type estuaries can be found along the coasts of Alaska , the Puget Sound region of western Washington state , British Columbia , eastern Canada, Greenland , Iceland , New Zealand, and Norway. These estuaries are formed by subsidence or land cut off from the ocean by land movement associated with faulting , volcanoes , and landslides . Inundation from eustatic sea-level rise during

1224-712: Is the Colorado River Delta in Mexico, historically covered with marshlands and forests, but now essentially a salt flat. Rasau Rasau is an area in Brunei . The area contains one of the many oil fields of Brunei, the Rasau Field , and a small village, Kampong Rasau , which has a population of 103. Rasau is located in the Belait district on the west bank of the Belait River south of Kampong Sungai Teraban , close to

1296-639: Is the whitefish species from the European Alps . Eutrophication reduced the oxygen levels in their habitats so greatly that whitefish eggs could not survive, causing local extinctions. However, some animals, such as carnivorous fish, tend to do well in nutrient-enriched environments and can benefit from eutrophication. This can be seen in populations of bass or pikes. Eutrophication can affect many marine habitats which can lead to economic consequences. The commercial fishing industry relies upon estuaries for approximately 68 percent of their catch by value because of

1368-719: The Holocene Epoch has also contributed to the formation of these estuaries. There are only a small number of tectonically produced estuaries; one example is the San Francisco Bay , which was formed by the crustal movements of the San Andreas Fault system causing the inundation of the lower reaches of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers . In this type of estuary, river output greatly exceeds marine input and tidal effects have minor importance. Freshwater floats on top of

1440-617: The Kuala Belait Beach which linked up Seria and Rasau with their main headquarters in Kuala Belait. Commercial hydrocarbons were first discovered in Rasau in 1979, and production began in 1983. A blowout of one of the wells in the Rasau Field, Rasau-17 occurred in April 1989. The resulting fire lasted from 25 April to 8 May when it was finally extinguished. Rasau gained prominence in

1512-595: The Mandovi estuary in Goa during the monsoon period. As tidal forcing increases, river output becomes less than the marine input. Here, current induced turbulence causes mixing of the whole water column such that salinity varies more longitudinally rather than vertically, leading to a moderately stratified condition. Examples include the Chesapeake Bay and Narragansett Bay . Tidal mixing forces exceed river output, resulting in

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1584-628: The Mid-Atlantic coast, and Galveston Bay and Tampa Bay along the Gulf Coast . Bar-built estuaries are found in a place where the deposition of sediment has kept pace with rising sea levels so that the estuaries are shallow and separated from the sea by sand spits or barrier islands. They are relatively common in tropical and subtropical locations. These estuaries are semi-isolated from ocean waters by barrier beaches ( barrier islands and barrier spits ). Formation of barrier beaches partially encloses

1656-702: The Severn Estuary in the United Kingdom and the Ems Dollard along the Dutch-German border. The width-to-depth ratio of these estuaries is typically large, appearing wedge-shaped (in cross-section) in the inner part and broadening and deepening seaward. Water depths rarely exceed 30 m (100 ft). Examples of this type of estuary in the U.S. are the Hudson River , Chesapeake Bay , and Delaware Bay along

1728-478: The black-tailed godwit , rely on estuaries. Two of the main challenges of estuarine life are the variability in salinity and sedimentation . Many species of fish and invertebrates have various methods to control or conform to the shifts in salt concentrations and are termed osmoconformers and osmoregulators . Many animals also burrow to avoid predation and to live in a more stable sedimental environment. However, large numbers of bacteria are found within

1800-520: The kampongs are also under the governance of the Belait District Office, since they constitute the proper subdivisions of the district and subdistricts, and subsequently the headmen of the kampongs , known as ketua kampong (with the exception of Pekan Kuala Belait since there is none assigned), answers to the Pegawai Daerah or District Officer. Kuala Belait is located in the vicinity of

1872-413: The 1950s and 1960s, driven by increased revenue from the booming oil industry. By 1997, it had become Brunei's second-largest town, following Bandar Seri Begawan. Often referred to as a "Shell town," much of its postwar development was attributed to Shell's efforts. The discovery of the first offshore gas field , South West Ampa , located 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) off Kuala Belait in 1963, further boosted

1944-497: The Belait River for employment opportunities. A shipyard, on the opposite bank from the Port of Kuala Belait at Kampong Sungai Duhon in Rasau, is a major source of employment for the people from the village and the greater Kuala Belait area. Rasau is dominated by the Rasau Field which is one of the two onshore oil fields in Brunei. The field is operated by Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) and

2016-477: The Belait population's hub. However, the population has scattered over the past 50 years, and now, Belait tribe members may be found in and around the town. By 1938, Kuala Belait's population had increased to 5,000, and the BMPC was the city's major employer, with 1,185 out of 2,265 workers under its payroll. 1,193 people were counted in Kuala Belait at the time of the 1931 census. It was reportedly 12,000 in 1948, due to

2088-564: The Japanese, including the massacre and execution of Indian prisoners of war s (POW) from the 2/15th Punjab Regiment . Additionally, 55 Indian prisoners died from starvation in the town's POW camp . As part of Operation Oboe Six, the Australian 9th Division arrived in Kuala Belait on 24 June 1945, leading to the recapture of the port. In 1949, reconstruction plans for the war-torn town were approved. Kuala Belait experienced significant growth during

2160-573: The Kuala Belait Boat Club organizses trips for sailing out to the open sea and visiting various nearby destinations. Historically, a timber jetty existed in Rasau as early as 1930. The Kuala Belait Port , one of Brunei's three ports, has sections near the river mouth operated by Brunei Shell, restricting public access. The commercial port is situated further upriver in Kampong Sungai Duhon and surrounding areas. However, due to silting at

2232-596: The Municipal Board, which is headed by Pengerusi Lembaga Bandaran (Chairman of the Municipal Board). The current chairman is Ridzuan Haji Ahmad. The area under the authority of the Municipal Department overlaps with that under Jabatan Daerah Belait or the Belait District Office. The municipal area consists of Pekan Kuala Belait, the whole of Kampong Pandan suburb, and parts of Mumong suburb. However, all of

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2304-668: The Seria Bypass and the Rasau Bridge to the 11 km road between Kampong Sungai Teraban and Sungai Tujoh. The Rasau Bridge across the Belait River is a toll bridge. The tolls ranges from B$ 3 for a passenger car to over $ 20 for a commercial long vehicle. An unsurfaced road connects the village of Kampong Rasau to the Rasau bridge. A "water taxi" can be hired at the public wharf close to the Kuala Belait market to go upriver towards Kampong Rasau and Kuala Balai. Commercial travellers would have to travel to either Bandar Seri Begawan 's Brunei International Airport or Miri's Airport to catch

2376-400: The United States. Estuaries are incredibly dynamic systems, where temperature, salinity, turbidity, depth and flow all change daily in response to the tides. This dynamism makes estuaries highly productive habitats, but also make it difficult for many species to survive year-round. As a result, estuaries large and small experience strong seasonal variation in their fish communities. In winter,

2448-452: The bottom where they are harmless. Historically the oysters filtered the estuary's entire water volume of excess nutrients every three or four days. Today that process takes almost a year, and sediment, nutrients, and algae can cause problems in local waters. Some major rivers that run through deserts historically had vast, expansive estuaries that have been reduced to a fraction of their former size, because of dams and diversions. One example

2520-399: The development around the district's oilfield. The town has a sizable Chinese population, and most Europeans are concentrated in Kuala Belait and Seria. The climate of Kuala Belait is tropical. The weather is warm, humid and rainy all year. Road transportation in Kuala Belait has evolved significantly, particularly following the discovery of oil. Initially, communication with the capital

2592-409: The dissolved oxygen from the water; thus hypoxic or anoxic zones can develop. Nitrogen is often the lead cause of eutrophication in estuaries in temperate zones. During a eutrophication event, biogeochemical feedback decreases the amount of available silica . These feedbacks also increase the supply of nitrogen and phosphorus, creating conditions where harmful algal blooms can persist. Given

2664-532: The district capital of Kuala Belait . It is one of the villages in Mukim Kuala Belait . It is located at 114°11′E longitude and 4°34′N latitude. To the north lies Kampong Sungai Teraban. The Malaysian state of Sarawak lies to the west and south with the Asam Paya oil field to the southwest. Across the Belait River to the east lies the southern portion of Kuala Belait and Kampong Sungai Duhon . Rasau

2736-401: The effects of modifying the estuarine circulation. Fjord -type estuaries are formed in deeply eroded valleys formed by glaciers . These U-shaped estuaries typically have steep sides, rock bottoms, and underwater sills contoured by glacial movement. The estuary is shallowest at its mouth, where terminal glacial moraines or rock bars form sills that restrict water flow. In the upper reaches of

2808-595: The estuary impacted by human activities, and over time may shift the basic composition of the ecosystem, and the reversible or irreversible changes in the abiotic and biotic parts of the systems from the bottom up. For example, Chinese and Russian industrial pollution, such as phenols and heavy metals, has devastated fish stocks in the Amur River and damaged its estuary soil. Estuaries tend to be naturally eutrophic because land runoff discharges nutrients into estuaries. With human activities, land run-off also now includes

2880-424: The estuary, the depth can exceed 300 m (1,000 ft). The width-to-depth ratio is generally small. In estuaries with very shallow sills, tidal oscillations only affect the water down to the depth of the sill, and the waters deeper than that may remain stagnant for a very long time, so there is only an occasional exchange of the deep water of the estuary with the ocean. If the sill depth is deep, water circulation

2952-771: The estuary, with only narrow inlets allowing contact with the ocean waters. Bar-built estuaries typically develop on gently sloping plains located along tectonically stable edges of continents and marginal sea coasts. They are extensive along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U.S. in areas with active coastal deposition of sediments and where tidal ranges are less than 4 m (13 ft). The barrier beaches that enclose bar-built estuaries have been developed in several ways: Fjords were formed where Pleistocene glaciers deepened and widened existing river valleys so that they become U-shaped in cross-sections. At their mouths there are typically rocks, bars or sills of glacial deposits , which have

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3024-609: The fish community is dominated by hardy marine residents, and in summer a variety of marine and anadromous fishes move into and out of estuaries, capitalizing on their high productivity. Estuaries provide a critical habitat to a variety of species that rely on estuaries for life-cycle completion. Pacific Herring ( Clupea pallasii ) are known to lay their eggs in estuaries and bays, surfperch give birth in estuaries, juvenile flatfish and rockfish migrate to estuaries to rear, and anadromous salmonids and lampreys use estuaries as migration corridors. Also, migratory bird populations, such as

3096-400: The great biodiversity of this ecosystem. During an algal bloom , fishermen have noticed a significant increase in the quantity of fish. A sudden increase in primary productivity causes spikes in fish populations which leads to more oxygen being utilized. It is the continued deoxygenation of the water that then causes a decline in fish populations. These effects can begin in estuaries and have

3168-527: The higher banks of the Belait River. That same year, a 60-mile (97 km) road was constructed, linking Kuala Belait to Brunei Town . Oil companies began concentrating their activities in the area, leading to the emergence of a thriving village in Kuala Belait by 1927. At the time, it served as a port for transporting machinery crucial to oil prospecting, primarily managed by the British Malayan Petroleum Company (BMPC). Kuala Belait soon became

3240-420: The impacts do not end there. Plant death alters the entire food web structure which can result in the death of animals within the afflicted biome . Estuaries are hotspots for biodiversity , containing a majority of commercial fish catch, making the impacts of eutrophication that much greater within estuaries. Some specific estuarine animals feel the effects of eutrophication more strongly than others. One example

3312-439: The improvement of road infrastructure. Initially, communication with the capital was primarily by sea and via Labuan , as the Belait River was closed for six months each year due to the monsoon, which hindered trade. This reliance on water routes limited the movement of goods and people until road access improved. The BMPC contributed significantly to the development of water transport facilities by establishing wharves to facilitate

3384-471: The influx of saline water , and to fluvial influences such as flows of freshwater and sediment. The mixing of seawater and freshwater provides high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment , making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world. Most existing estuaries formed during the Holocene epoch with the flooding of river-eroded or glacially scoured valleys when

3456-455: The latter half of the 20th century when a bridge was built across the Belait River providing a route to Miri in Sarawak, Malaysia without the need for any ferry crossings across the Belait River. However, the bridge was not opened until after a family of Malaysians drowned at the ferry point during heavy rain. The small village of Kampong Rasau is located to the south of the Rasau Bridge. It has

3528-525: The many chemicals used as fertilizers in agriculture as well as waste from livestock and humans. Excess oxygen-depleting chemicals in the water can lead to hypoxia and the creation of dead zones . This can result in reductions in water quality, fish, and other animal populations. Overfishing also occurs. Chesapeake Bay once had a flourishing oyster population that has been almost wiped out by overfishing. Oysters filter these pollutants, and either eat them or shape them into small packets that are deposited on

3600-422: The marine environment, such as plastics , pesticides , furans , dioxins , phenols and heavy metals . Such toxins can accumulate in the tissues of many species of aquatic life in a process called bioaccumulation . They also accumulate in benthic environments, such as estuaries and bay muds : a geological record of human activities of the last century. The elemental composition of biofilm reflect areas of

3672-575: The marsh causing increased rates of erosion . A similar phenomenon occurs in mangrove swamps , which are another potential ecosystem in estuaries. An increase in nitrogen causes an increase in shoot growth and a decrease in root growth. Weaker root systems cause a mangrove tree to be less resilient in seasons of drought, which can lead to the death of the mangrove. This shift in above ground and below ground biomass caused by eutrophication could hindered plant success in these ecosystems. Across all biomes, eutrophication often results in plant death but

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3744-532: The movement of materials and personnel to and from the oilfields. Despite these advancements, the oilfield community in Brunei often had closer contact with the oilfield community in Sarawak , where oil was piped for refining, highlighting the ongoing importance of water transportation in the region. Water transportation in Kuala Belait is facilitated by a public wharf near the market, where visitors can hire water taxis to travel upriver towards Kuala Balai. Additionally,

3816-440: The now off-balance nitrogen cycle , estuaries can be driven to phosphorus limitation instead of nitrogen limitation. Estuaries can be severely impacted by an unbalanced phosphorus cycle, as phosphorus interacts with nitrogen and silica availability. With an abundance of nutrients in the ecosystem, plants and algae overgrow and eventually decompose, which produce a significant amount of carbon dioxide. While releasing CO 2 into

3888-462: The offshore platforms, off the Belait districts, embark and disembark. The Kuala Belait supply base is located to the south of the wharf , and is the main point for logistics for Shell. The Marine Construction Yard (MCY) in Sungai Duhon , commonly known as SCO, is where construction of marine structures are carried out prior to installation offshore. Kampong Kuala Balai has historically served as

3960-596: The oilfields. By 1938, the population of Kuala Belait had reached 5,000, with the BMPC being the largest employer in the district and continuing to invest in local infrastructure. In the 21st century , most roads in Kuala Belait are surfaced, and there are bus services transporting passengers to Miri. The Lumut–Belait Highway connects the Malaysian border west of Sungai Tujoh with various highways that lead to Bandar Seri Begawan and Muara town. Water transportation has historically been vital for Kuala Belait, particularly before

4032-415: The onshore Rasau gas field. However Brunei Shell has various facilities in town to support the oil and gas production facilities in the vicinity. The Kuala Belait Bunkering Station (KBBS) is located near the mouth of the Belait River. It supplies domestic gas to the town and other bulk chemicals in support of the various activities. The Kuala Belait Wharf is the main point from which personnel to and from

4104-799: The river mouth, the port can only accommodate shallow draft vessels. To combat this issue, two breakwaters have been constructed at the mouth of the Belait River to help reduce silting. The town is also home to the Consulate of Mexico and St. John's Church . Primary education is offered in various government and private schools. There are currently three government primary schools: The government also has built three schools which offer secondary education: There are four private schools in Kuala Belait. They may offer primary, secondary or both. Secondary students opting for sixth form education study at Pusat Tingkatan Enam Belait . Alternatively, students opting for vocational education may proceed to study at one of

4176-435: The sea level began to rise about 10,000–12,000 years ago. Estuaries are typically classified according to their geomorphological features or to water-circulation patterns. They can have many different names, such as bays , harbors , lagoons , inlets , or sounds , although some of these water bodies do not strictly meet the above definition of an estuary and could be fully saline. Many estuaries suffer degeneration from

4248-427: The seawater in a layer that gradually thins as it moves seaward. The denser seawater moves landward along the bottom of the estuary, forming a wedge-shaped layer that is thinner as it approaches land. As a velocity difference develops between the two layers, shear forces generate internal waves at the interface, mixing the seawater upward with the freshwater. An examples of a salt wedge estuary is Mississippi River and

4320-411: The sediment which has a very high oxygen demand. This reduces the levels of oxygen within the sediment often resulting in partially anoxic conditions, which can be further exacerbated by limited water flow. Phytoplankton are key primary producers in estuaries. They move with the water bodies and can be flushed in and out with the tides . Their productivity is largely dependent upon the turbidity of

4392-462: The tank farms in Seria via Mumong, and to the Refinery of Seria, via Kuala Belait. Hydrocarbons from Malaysia's Asam Paya field in Sarawak, across the border from Rasau is piped into Rasau. The well Rasau 5 had a depth of 9,000 ft . The main highway from Bandar Seri Begawan to the Malaysian border passes through Rasau. The road, Jalan Rasau, is a single carriageway and it is surfaced. It connects

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4464-428: The thriving oil industry. Despite this progress, the town was heavily bombed during World War II , leading to widespread destruction and the need to rebuild. The BMPC also played a crucial role in infrastructure development, constructing a telephone line along the Belait coastline earlier in 1930, linking Seria and Rasau to their headquarters in Kuala Belait. However, a telephone line connecting Kuala Belait to Tutong

4536-417: The town's growth. During the 1962 Brunei revolt , TKNU rebels briefly gained control of the town, but the town was soon liberated by the 1/2nd Battalion Gurkha Rifles Regiment , with local police successfully defending the police station. After Brunei's independence in 1984, several new government buildings were constructed to house local services. In the 1990s, the coastal road from Muara to Kuala Belait

4608-519: The two post-secondary institution, namely: Kuala Belait town itself has a number of tourist attractions. Some of these are: Estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea . Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone . Estuaries are subject both to marine influences such as tides , waves , and

4680-456: The volume of freshwater, the tidal range, and the extent of evaporation of the water in the estuary. Drowned river valleys are also known as coastal plain estuaries. In places where the sea level is rising relative to the land, sea water progressively penetrates into river valleys and the topography of the estuary remains similar to that of a river valley. This is the most common type of estuary in temperate climates. Well-studied estuaries include

4752-453: The water and atmosphere, these organisms are also intaking all or nearly all of the available oxygen creating a hypoxic environment and unbalanced oxygen cycle . The excess carbon in the form of CO 2 can lead to low pH levels and ocean acidification , which is more harmful for vulnerable coastal regions like estuaries. Eutrophication has been seen to negatively impact many plant communities in estuarine ecosystems . Salt marshes are

4824-835: The water. The main phytoplankton present are diatoms and dinoflagellates which are abundant in the sediment. A primary source of food for many organisms on estuaries, including bacteria , is detritus from the settlement of the sedimentation. Of the thirty-two largest cities in the world in the early 1990s, twenty-two were located on estuaries. As ecosystems, estuaries are under threat from human activities such as pollution and overfishing . They are also threatened by sewage, coastal settlement, land clearance and much more. Estuaries are affected by events far upstream, and concentrate materials such as pollutants and sediments. Land run-off and industrial, agricultural, and domestic waste enter rivers and are discharged into estuaries. Contaminants can be introduced which do not disintegrate rapidly in

4896-429: Was challenging, as access by land required traveling along the beach between Kuala Belait and Tutong, where a road existed. In 1931, the appointment of an assistant British Resident marked a turning point, although land connections with Brunei Town remained difficult. The BMPC played a crucial role in enhancing road infrastructure, providing necessary improvements to support the growing immigrant population associated with

4968-466: Was discovered in 1979, although production from the field did not start until 1983. Most of the wells are located between the highway linking the Rasau Bridge to Sungai Tujoh in the Rasau area. However, some of the Rasau wells are on the east side of the Belait River in Kampong Sungai Duhon and Kampong Pandan . The Rasau Production Station is located in the Rasau area. Pipelines connect it to

5040-551: Was dismantled in 1934 after failing to meet expectations. By 1939, pipelines and roads between Kuala Belait and Miri had been established, further enhancing the town's connectivity and industrial growth. On 16 December 1941, Kuala Belait was captured after an amphibious assault on the Belait coast by 10,000 soldiers from the Japanese Kawaguchi Detachment . The town remained under Japanese occupation during World War II. During this time, war crimes were committed by

5112-417: Was historically one of the first stops on the Belait River upriver from Kuala Belait towards the former district administrative capital of Kuala Balai . It was founded further inland from the mouth of the Belait River and Kuala Belait for protection against pirates. A timber jetty used to exist in the area in 1930. Moreover latter that year, British Malayan Petroleum Company constructed a telephone line along

5184-411: Was upgraded to a four-lane highway, further enhancing the town's infrastructure. The area of Kuala Belait comprises territorial division which can be informally grouped into three main areas: Pekan Kuala Belait or Kuala Belait Town, and Kampong Pandan and Mumong suburbs. The latter two areas are further divided into three and two kampongs or villages respectively. Pekan Kuala Belait is also officially

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