Global Subterranean Estuaries Modify Groundwater Nutrient Loading to the Ocean
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-16-2024
Abstract
Terrestrial groundwater travels through subterranean estuaries before reaching the sea. Groundwater-derived nutrients drive coastal water quality, primary production, and eutrophication. We determined how dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) are transformed within subterranean estuaries and estimated submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) nutrient loads compiling > 10,000 groundwater samples from 216 sites worldwide. Nutrients exhibited complex, nonconservative behavior in subterranean estuaries. Fresh groundwater DIN and DIP are usually produced, and DON is consumed during transport. Median total SGD (saline and fresh) fluxes globally were 5.4, 2.6, and 0.18 Tmol yr−1 for DIN, DON, and DIP, respectively. Despite large natural variability, total SGD fluxes likely exceed global riverine nutrient export. Fresh SGD is a small source of new nutrients, but saline SGD is an important source of mostly recycled nutrients. Nutrients exported via SGD via subterranean estuaries are critical to coastal biogeochemistry and a significant nutrient source to the oceans.
Publication
Limnology and Oceanography Letters
Publisher
Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography
Volume
9
Issue
4
Pages
411-422
Department
College of Arts and Sciences
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Wilson, S. J., Moody, A., McKenzie, T., Cardenas, M. B., Luijendijk, E., Sawyer, A. H., Wilson, A., Michael, H. A., Xu, B., Knee, K. L., Cho, H.-M., Weinstein, Y., Paytan, A., Moosdorf, N., Chen, C.-T. A., Beck, M., Lopez, C., Murgulet, D., Kim, G., . . . Santos, I. R. (2024). Global subterranean estuaries modify groundwater nutrient loading to the ocean. Limnology and Oceanography Letters, 9(4), 411-422. https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10390
Comments
Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors. Limnology and Oceanography Letters published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography.
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