Submarine Groundwater Discharge
The invisible source of water and solutes to the coastal ocean
Groundwater discharge to the coastal ocean has historically been overlooked due to the inherent difficulties to quantify this “invisible” source that occurs below the water surface. A number of recent studies have provided increasing evidence that groundwater discharge is an important component of the hydrological cycle and an essential pathway for the transfer of dissolved compounds (e.g. nutrients, metals, pollutants) to the coastal ocean. These fluxes of solutes can be derived from both meteoric fresh groundwater discharge and seawater circulation through coastal aquifers, and thus both fractions are commonly referred together as Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD). SGD-driven inputs of nutrients, metals, carbon, pollutants, etc. can have profound implications on coastal ecosystems, such as triggering algal blooms or promoting eutrophication of coastal waters. Despite clear evidences of the relevance of SGD for coastal ecosystems, this pathway remains as a poorly quantified source of dissolved chemical compounds to the coastal ocean and there are still many unknowns that we intend to address through this MERS research topic.
Major research lines within this MERS topic are:
- Improving the application and quantification of Radium isotopes and Radon as tracers of Submarine Groundwater Discharge
- Quantifying the magnitude of SGD-driven water and solute fluxes to Mediterranean coastal areas
- Understanding the processes and physical forces driving SGD and its temporal and spatial variability
- Evaluating the implications of SGD for coastal ecosystems.
- Extending SGD-derived knowledge to other sediment-water interfaces: wetlands, coastal lagoons, river corridors, lakes
