Riverine and atmospheric inputs are often considered as the main terrestrial sources of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), phosphorus (DIP), and silicon (DSi) in the ocean. However, the fluxes of nutrients via submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) often exceed riverine inputs in different local and regional scale settings. In this study, we provide a first approximation of global nutrient fluxes to the ocean via total SGD, including pore water fluxes, by combining a global compilation of nutrient concentrations in groundwater and the SGD-derived 228Ra fluxes. In order to avoid overestimations in calculating SGDderived nutrient fluxes, the endmember value of nutrients in global groundwater was chosen from saline groundwater samples (salinity >10) which showed relatively lower values over all regions. The results show that the total SGD-derived fluxes of DIN, DIP, and DSi could be approximately 1.4-, 1.6-, and 0.7-fold of the river fluxes to the global ocean (Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Oceans), respectively. Although significant portions of these SGD-derived nutrient fluxes are thought to be recycled within sediment-aquifer systems over various timescales, SGD-derived nutrient fluxes should be included in the global ocean budget in order to better understand dynamic interactions at the land-ocean interface.
Radium isotopes (228Ra and 226Ra) are excellent tracers of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). To estimate SGD magnitudes, information on the end‐member values of Ra concentrations in groundwater is critical; however, the distribution characteristics of Ra in coastal aquifers are poorly understood. In this study, we show that Ra concentrations in coastal groundwater are primarily dependent on salinity based on the data (n > 500) obtained from global coastal aquifers, although previous end‐member calculations averaged all Ra concentrations without considering salinity. If we assume that SGD is composed mainly of seawater infiltrating the aquifer, previous estimates of SGD for the Atlantic Ocean and the global ocean were overestimated twofold to threefold. This may be similar for other applications using different Ra isotopes. Our study highlights that the end‐members of Ra isotopes in groundwater should be carefully considered when estimating SGD using Ra isotope mass balances in the ocean.
We examined the residence time, seepage rate, and submarine groundwater discharge (SGD)-driven dissolved nutrients and organic matter in Hwasun Bay, Jeju Island, Korea during the occurrence of a typhoon, Kong-rey, using a humic fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOMH)-Si mass balance model. The study period spanned October 4–10, 2018. One day after the typhoon, the residence time and seepage rate were calculated to be 1 day and 0.51 m day−1, respectively, and the highest SGD-driven fluxes of chemical constituents were estimated (1.7 × 106 mol day−1 for dissolved inorganic nitrogen, 0.1 × 106 mol day−1 for dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), 1.1 × 106 mol day−1 for dissolved silicon, 0.5 × 106 mol day−1 for dissolved organic carbon, 1.6 × 106 mol day−1 for dissolved organic nitrogen, 0.4 × 106 mol day−1 for particulate organic carbon, and 38 × 106 g QS day−1 for FDOMH). SGD-driven fluxes of dissolved nutrient and organic matter were over 90% of the total input fluxes in Hwasun Bay. Our results highlight the potential of using the FDOMH-Si mass balance model to effectively measure SGD within a specific area (i.e., volcanic islands) under specific weather conditions (i.e., typhoon/storm). In oligotrophic oceanic regions, SGD-driven chemical fluxes from highly permeable islands considerably contribute to coastal nutrient budgets and coastal biological production.
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