Gulf of Mexico numerous bays and smaller inlets. A number of rivers empty into the gulf, most notably the Mississippi River and Rio Grande in the northern gulf, and the Grijalva and Usumacinta rivers in the southern gulf. The land that forms the gulf's coast, including many long, narrow barrier islands, is almost uniformly low-lying and is characterized by marshes and swamps as well as stretches of sandy beach. The Gulf of Mexico is an excellent example of a passive margin. The continental shelf is quite wide at most points along the coast, most notably at the Florida and Yucatán Peninsulas. The shelf
Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (GecoServ) is a searchable database that gathers ecosystem services (ES) valuation studies relevant to the Gulf of Mexico. GecoServ's two main goals are to allow for the distribution and sharing of information about such studies and to identify current gaps in the ES literature. The studies summarized there are for habitats relevant to the Gulf region even though they may have been conducted elsewhere. • Freshwater Inflows is an ecosystem-based tool that was created to aid in coastal management decisions regarding freshwater inflow, which is an important component of estuarine health. Harte Research