Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2018
Abstract
Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is a global and well-studied geological process by which groundwater of varying salinities enters coastal waters. SGD is known to transport bioactive solutes, including but not limited to nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, silica), gases (methane, carbon dioxide), and trace metals (iron, nickel, zinc). In addition, physical changes to the water column, such as changes in temperature and mixing can be caused by SGD. Therefore SGD influences both autotrophic and heterotrophic marine biota across all kingdoms of life. This paper synthesizes the current literature in which the impacts of SGD on marine biota were measured and observed by field, modeling, or laboratory studies. The review is grouped by organismal complexity: bacteria and phytoplankton, macrophytes (macroalgae and marine plants), animals, and ecosystem studies. Directions for future research about the impacts of SGD on marine life, including increasing the number of ecosystem assessment studies and including biological parameters in SGD flux studies, are also discussed.
Publication
Hydrology
Publisher
MDPI
City/State
Basel, Switzerland
Volume
5
Issue
4
Pages
60
Department
College of Arts and Sciences
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Lecher, A.L., Mackey, K.R.M. (2018, December) Synthesizing the effects of submarine groundwater discharge on marine biota. Hydrology, 5(4), 60. doi:10.3390/hydrology5040060
Comments
Received: 28 September 2018 / Revised: 14 October 2018 / Accepted: 17 October 2018 / Published: 19 October 2018
This article belongs to the Special Issue Submarine Groundwater Discharge and Its Effects. Dr. Lecher was appointed guest editor of Hydrology for a special issue on submarine groundwater discharge.