A summary of the findings of a 1972 workshop convened to study problems of coastal ecosystems. This volume summarizes the conclusions and recommendations of The Workshop on Critical Problems of the Coastal Zone, held 22 May - 3 June, 1972, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The workshop was cosponsored by The Institute of Ecology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and brought together specialists from a wide variety of disciplines, including biology, chemistry, ecology, law, economics, engineering, oceanography, ands sociology.