Estimating submarine groundwater discharge at a subtropical river estuary along the Beibu Gulf, China

Xilong Wang; Kaijun Su; Juan Du; Linwei Li; Yanling Lao; Guizhen Ning; Li Bin

doi:10.1007/s13131-021-1862-7

Volume 40 Issue 9

Sep. 2021

Turn off MathJax

Article Contents

Article Navigation > Acta Oceanologica Sinica > 2021 > 40(9): 13-22

Xilong Wang, Kaijun Su, Juan Du, Linwei Li, Yanling Lao, Guizhen Ning, Li Bin. Estimating submarine groundwater discharge at a subtropical river estuary along the Beibu Gulf, China[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2021, 40(9): 13-22. doi: 10.1007/s13131-021-1862-7

Citation:

Xilong Wang, Kaijun Su, Juan Du, Linwei Li, Yanling Lao, Guizhen Ning, Li Bin. Estimating submarine groundwater discharge at a subtropical river estuary along the Beibu Gulf, China[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2021, 40(9): 13-22. doi: 10.1007/s13131-021-1862-7

Citation:

Xilong Wang, Kaijun Su, Juan Du, Linwei Li, Yanling Lao, Guizhen Ning, Li Bin. Estimating submarine groundwater discharge at a subtropical river estuary along the Beibu Gulf, China[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2021, 40(9): 13-22. doi: 10.1007/s13131-021-1862-7

PDF( 1501 KB)

Estimating submarine groundwater discharge at a subtropical river estuary along the Beibu Gulf, China

doi: 10.1007/s13131-021-1862-7

Xilong Wang^{1, 3},
Kaijun Su²,
Juan Du^{4, 5},
Linwei Li⁴,
Yanling Lao^{1, 6
,
,},
Guizhen Ning¹,
Li Bin¹

1.
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster in the Beibu Gulf, Beibu Gulf University, Qinzhou 535011, China
2.
Institute of Radiation Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin 300192, China
3.
Key Laboratory of Coastal Science and Engineering, Beibu Gulf University, Qinzhou 535011, China
4.
State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
5.
Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan 523808, China
6.
Qinzhou Key Laboratory of Land Resources Use and Monitor, Beibu Gulf University, Qinzhou 535011, China

Funds: The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 41906150; the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi under contract No. 2018GXNSFBA281051; the Science and Technology Plan Projects of Guangxi Province under contract Nos Gui Science AD19245147 and Gui Science AB18126098; the Research Fund of Guangxi Education Department under contract No. 2018KY0616; the Research Startup Fund of Beibu Gulf University under contract No. 2018KYQD09.

More Information

Corresponding author: E-mail: xuanfeng698547@126.com
Received Date: 2021-03-31
Accepted Date: 2021-06-02

Available Online: 2021-06-25

Publish Date: 2021-09-30

Abstract

Abstract

In certain regions, submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) into the ocean plays a significant role in coastal material fluxes and their biogeochemical cycle; therefore, the impact of SGD on the ecosystem cannot be ignored. In this study, SGD was estimated using naturally occurring radium isotopes (²²³Ra and ²²⁴Ra) in a subtropical estuary along the Beibu Gulf, China. The results showed that the Ra activities of submarine groundwater were approximately 10 times higher than those of surface water. By assuming a steady state and using an Ra mass balance model, the SGD flux in May 2018 was estimated to be 5.98×10⁶ m³/d and 3.60×10⁶ m³/d based on ²²⁴Ra and ²²³Ra, respectively. At the same time, the activities of Ra isotopes fluctuated within a tidal cycle; that is, a lower activity was observed at high tide and a higher activity was seen at low tide. Based on these variations, the average tidal pumping fluxes of SGD were 1.15×10⁶ m³/d and 2.44×10⁶ m³/d with ²²⁴Ra and ²²³Ra, respectively. Tidal-driven SGD accounts for 24%–51% of the total SGD. Therefore, tidal pumping is an important driving force of the SGD in the Dafengjiang River (DFJR) Estuary. Furthermore, the SGD of the DFJR Estuary in the coastal zone contributes significantly to the seawater composition of the Beibu Gulf and the material exchange between land and sea.
- radium isotopes,
- submarine groundwater discharge,
- balance model,
- tidal pumping,
- Dafengjiang River Estuary

FullText(HTML)

References(68)

References

[1]	Adyasari D, Oehler T, Afiati N, et al. 2018. Groundwater nutrient inputs into an urbanized tropical estuary system in Indonesia. Science of the Total Environment, 627: 1066–1079. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.281
[2]	Alongi D M. 2014. Carbon cycling and storage in mangrove forests. Annual Review of Marine Science, 6: 195–219. doi: 10.1146/annurev-marine-010213-135020
[3]	Atkins M L, Santos I R, Ruiz-Halpern S, et al. 2013. Carbon dioxide dynamics driven by groundwater discharge in a coastal floodplain creek. Journal of Hydrology, 493: 30–42. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.04.008
[4]	Beck A J, Rapaglia J P, Cochran J K, et al. 2007. Radium mass-balance in Jamaica Bay, NY: evidence for a substantial flux of submarine groundwater. Marine Chemistry, 106(3–4): 419–441. doi: 10.1016/j.marchem.2007.03.008
[5]	Burnett W C, Bokuniewicz H, Huettel M, et al. 2003. Groundwater and pore water inputs to the coastal zone. Biogeochemistry, 66(1–2): 3–33
[6]	Charette M A. 2007. Hydrologic forcing of submarine groundwater discharge: insight from a seasonal study of radium isotopes in a groundwater-dominated salt marsh estuary. Limnology and Oceanography, 52(1): 230–239. doi: 10.4319/lo.2007.52.1.0230
[7]	Charette M A, Buesseler K O. 2004. Submarine groundwater discharge of nutrients and copper to an urban subestuary of Chesapeake Bay (Elizabeth River). Limnology and Oceanography, 49(2): 376–385. doi: 10.4319/lo.2004.49.2.0376
[8]	Charette M A, Henderson P B, Breier C F, et al. 2013. Submarine groundwater discharge in a river-dominated Florida estuary. Marine Chemistry, 156: 3–17. doi: 10.1016/j.marchem.2013.04.001
[9]	Chen Xiaogang, Cukrov N, Santos I R, et al. 2020. Karstic submarine groundwater discharge into the Mediterranean: radon-based nutrient fluxes in an anchialine cave and a basin-wide upscaling. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 268: 467–484. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2019.08.019
[10]	Chen Xiaogang, Zhang Fenfen, Lao Yanling, et al. 2018. Submarine groundwater discharge-derived carbon fluxes in mangroves: an important component of blue carbon budgets?. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 123(9): 6962–6979. doi: 10.1029/2018JC014448
[11]	Colbert S L, Hammond D E. 2008. Shoreline and seafloor fluxes of water and short-lived Ra isotopes to surface water of San Pedro Bay, CA. Marine Chemistry, 108(1–2): 1–17. doi: 10.1016/j.marchem.2007.09.004
[12]	Garcia-Solsona E, Masqué P, Garcia-Orellana J, et al. 2008. Estimating submarine groundwater discharge around Isola La Cura, northern Venice Lagoon (Italy), by using the radium quartet. Marine Chemistry, 109(3–4): 292–306. doi: 10.1016/j.marchem.2008.02.007
[13]	Gu Hequan, Moore W S, Zhang Lei, et al. 2012. Using radium isotopes to estimate the residence time and the contribution of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in the Changjiang effluent plume, East China Sea. Continental Shelf Research, 35: 95–107. doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2012.01.002
[14]	Guo Jing. 2020. Nitrogen biogeochemical processes and geochemical record of anthropogenic nutrient loading in coastal regions of Beibu Gulf, Guangxi Province (in Chinese)[dissertation]. Nanning: Guangxi University
[15]	Guo Zhanrong, Huang Lei, Yuan Xiaojie, et al. 2011. Estimating submarine groundwater discharge to the Jiulong River estuary using Ra isotopes. Advances in Water Science (in Chinese), 22(1): 118–125
[16]	Hong Qingquan, Cai Pinghe, Shi Xiangming, et al. 2017. Solute transport into the Jiulong River estuary via pore water exchange and submarine groundwater discharge: new insights from ²²⁴Ra/²²⁸Th disequilibrium. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 198: 338–359. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2016.11.002
[17]	Ji Tao, Du Jinzhou, Moore W S, et al. 2013. Nutrient inputs to a Lagoon through submarine groundwater discharge: the case of Laoye Lagoon, Hainan, China. Journal of Marine Systems, 111-112: 253–262. doi: 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2012.11.007
[18]	Johannes R E. 1980. Ecological significance of the submarine discharge of groundwater. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 3(4): 365–373
[19]	Kelly R P, Moran S B. 2002. Seasonal changes in groundwater input to a well-mixed estuary estimated using radium isotopes and implications for coastal nutrient budgets. Limnology and Oceanography, 47(6): 1796–1807. doi: 10.4319/lo.2002.47.6.1796
[20]	Kwon E Y, Kim G, Primeau F, et al. 2014. Global estimate of submarine groundwater discharge based on an observationally constrained radium isotope model. Geophysical Research Letters, 41(23): 8438–8444. doi: 10.1002/2014GL061574
[21]	Li Pingyang, Xue Rui, Wang Yinghui, et al. 2015. Influence of anthropogenic activities on PAHs in sediments in a significant gulf of low-latitude developing regions, the Beibu Gulf, South China Sea: distribution, sources, inventory and probability risk. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 90(1–2): 218–226. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.10.048
[22]	Lin Junliang, Li Qiurong, Huang Huilin, et al. 2018. A study of pollutant fluxes variations in main sea-going rivers of Guangxi in recent ten years. Journal of Qinzhou University (in Chinese), 33(10): 8–15
[23]	Liu Huatai, Guo Zhanrong, Gao Aiguo, et al. 2016. ¹⁸O and ²²⁶Ra in the Minjiang River estuary, China and their hydrological implications. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 173: 93–101. doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2015.12.023
[24]	Liu Jianan, Du Jinzhou, Wu Ying, et al. 2018. Nutrient input through submarine groundwater discharge in two major Chinese estuaries: the Pearl River Estuary and the Changjiang River Estuary. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 203: 17–28. doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2018.02.005
[25]	Liu Jianan, Hrustić E, Du Jinzhou, et al. 2019. Net submarine groundwater-derived dissolved inorganic nutrients and carbon input to the oligotrophic stratified karstic estuary of the Krka River (Adriatic Sea, Croatia). Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 124(6): 4334–4349. doi: 10.1029/2018JC014814
[26]	Liu Jin, Wu Yutian, Deng Shuang, et al. 2020. Depth profiles of ²²⁸Ra and ²²⁸Th in sediment cores in Nansha Sea Area. Environmental Chemistry (in Chinese), 39(8): 2272–2278
[27]	Lu Dongliang, Kang Zhenjun, Yang Bin, et al. 2020. Compositions and spatio-temporal distributions of different nitrogen species and lability of dissolved organic nitrogen from the Dafengjiang River to the Sanniang Bay, China. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 156: 111205. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111205
[28]	Luek J L, Beck A J. 2014. Radium budget of the York River estuary (VA, USA) dominated by submarine groundwater discharge with a seasonally variable groundwater end-member. Marine Chemistry, 165: 55–65. doi: 10.1016/j.marchem.2014.08.001
[29]	Luo Hao, Li Linwei, Wang Jinlong, et al. 2019. The desorption of radium isotopes in river sediments in Qinzhou Bay. Haiyang Xuebao (in Chinese), 41(4): 27–41
[30]	Luo Jinfu, Li Tianshen, Lan Wenlu. 2016. Evolution trend and prevention strategy of algae bloom in the Beibu Gulf. Environmental Protection (in Chinese), 44(20): 40–42
[31]	Luo Yafei, Huang Haijun, Yan Liwen, et al. 2015. Distribution and diffusion of suspended matters based on remote sensing in the Dafengjiang Estuary. Transactions of Oceanology and Limnology (in Chinese), 27(3): 14–20
[32]	Maher D T, Santos I R, Golsby-Smith L, et al. 2013. Groundwater-derived dissolved inorganic and organic carbon exports from a mangrove tidal creek: the missing mangrove carbon sink?. Limnology and Oceanography, 58(2): 475–488. doi: 10.4319/lo.2013.58.2.0475
[33]	Makings U, Santos I R, Maher D T, et al. 2014. Importance of budgets for estimating the input of groundwater-derived nutrients to an eutrophic tidal river and estuary. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 143: 65–76. doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2014.02.003
[34]	Moore W S. 2003. Sources and fluxes of submarine groundwater discharge delineated by radium isotopes. Biogeochemistry, 66(1–2): 75–93
[35]	Moore W S. 2006. Radium isotopes as tracers of submarine groundwater discharge in Sicily. Continental Shelf Research, 26(7): 852–861. doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2005.12.004
[36]	Moore W S, Arnold R. 1996. Measurement of ²²³Ra and ²²⁴Ra in coastal waters using a delayed coincidence counter. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 101(C1): 1321–1329. doi: 10.1029/95JC03139
[37]	Moore W S, Beck M, Riedel T, et al. 2011. Radium-based pore water fluxes of silica, alkalinity, manganese, DOC, and uranium: a decade of studies in the German Wadden Sea. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 75(21): 6535–6555. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2011.08.037
[38]	Moore W S, Blanton J O, Joye S B. 2006. Estimates of flushing times, submarine groundwater discharge, and nutrient fluxes to Okatee Estuary, South Carolina. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 111(C9): C09006
[39]	Moore W S, Krest J. 2004. Distribution of ²²³Ra and ²²⁴Ra in the plumes of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers and the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Chemistry, 86(3–4): 105–119. doi: 10.1016/j.marchem.2003.10.001
[40]	Moore W S, Sarmiento J L, Key R M. 2008. Submarine groundwater discharge revealed by ²²⁸Ra distribution in the upper Atlantic Ocean. Nature Geoscience, 1(5): 309–311. doi: 10.1038/ngeo183
[41]	Null K A, Corbett D R, DeMaster D J, et al. 2011. Porewater advection of ammonium into the Neuse River estuary, North Carolina, USA. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 95(2–3): 314–325. doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2011.09.016
[42]	Petermann E, Knöller K, Rocha C, et al. 2018. Coupling end-member mixing analysis and isotope mass balancing (222-Rn) for differentiation of fresh and recirculated submarine groundwater discharge into Knysna Estuary, South Africa. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 123(2): 952–970. doi: 10.1002/2017JC013008
[43]	Peterson R N, Burnett W C, Taniguchi M, et al. 2008. Radon and radium isotope assessment of submarine groundwater discharge in the Yellow River delta, China. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 113(C9): C09021
[44]	Prakash R, Srinivasamoorthy K, Gopinath S, et al. 2018. Measurement of submarine groundwater discharge using diverse methods in Coleroon Estuary, Tamil Nadu, India. Applied Water Science, 8(1): 13. doi: 10.1007/s13201-018-0659-0
[45]	Rahaman W, Singh S K. 2012. Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in estuaries of western India: impact of submarine groundwater discharge. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 85: 275–288. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2012.02.025
[46]	Rengarajan R, Sarma V V S S. 2015. Submarine groundwater discharge and nutrient addition to the coastal zone of the Godavari estuary. Marine Chemistry, 172: 57–69. doi: 10.1016/j.marchem.2015.03.008
[47]	Sadat-Noori M, Maher D T, Santos I R. 2016a. Groundwater discharge as a source of dissolved carbon and greenhouse gases in a subtropical estuary. Estuaries and Coasts, 39(3): 639–656. doi: 10.1007/s12237-015-0042-4
[48]	Sadat-Noori M, Santos I R, Sanders C J, et al. 2015. Groundwater discharge into an estuary using spatially distributed radon time series and radium isotopes. Journal of Hydrology, 528: 703–719. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.06.056
[49]	Sadat-Noori M, Santos I R, Tait D R, et al. 2016b. Fresh meteoric versus recirculated saline groundwater nutrient inputs into a subtropical estuary. Science of the Total Environment, 566-567: 1440–1453. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.008
[50]	Sadat-Noori M, Santos I R, Tait D R, et al. 2017. High porewater exchange in a mangrove-dominated estuary revealed from short-lived radium isotopes. Journal of Hydrology, 553: 188–198. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.07.058
[51]	Sanders C J, Maher D T, Tait D R, et al. 2016. Are global mangrove carbon stocks driven by rainfall?. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 121(10): 2600–2609. doi: 10.1002/2016JG003510
[52]	Santos I R, Bryan K R, Pilditch C A, et al. 2014. Influence of porewater exchange on nutrient dynamics in two New Zealand estuarine intertidal flats. Marine Chemistry, 167: 57–70. doi: 10.1016/j.marchem.2014.04.006
[53]	Schwartz M C. 2003. Significant groundwater input to a coastal plain estuary: assessment from excess radon. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 56(1): 31–42. doi: 10.1016/S0272-7714(02)00118-X
[54]	Su Ni, Du Jinzhou, Moore W S, et al. 2011. An examination of groundwater discharge and the associated nutrient fluxes into the estuaries of eastern Hainan Island, China using ²²⁶Ra. Science of the Total Environment, 409(19): 3909–3918. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.06.017
[55]	Sun Jian, Lin Binliang, Li Kaiming, et al. 2014. A modelling study of residence time and exposure time in the Pearl River Estuary, China. Journal of Hydro-Environment Research, 8(3): 281–291. doi: 10.1016/j.jher.2013.06.003
[56]	Swarzenski P W, Burnett W C, Greenwood W J, et al. 2006. Combined time-series resistivity and geochemical tracer techniques to examine submarine groundwater discharge at Dor Beach, Israel. Geophysical Research Letters, 33(24): L24405. doi: 10.1029/2006GL028282
[57]	Wang Guizhi, Jing Wenping, Wang Shuling, et al. 2014. Coastal acidification induced by tidal-driven submarine groundwater discharge in a coastal coral reef system. Environmental Science & Technology, 48(22): 13069–13075
[58]	Wang Guizhi, Wang Zhangyong, Zhai Weidong, et al. 2015a. Net subterranean estuarine export fluxes of dissolved inorganic C, N, P, Si, and total alkalinity into the Jiulong River estuary, China. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 149: 103–114. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2014.11.001
[59]	Wang Yali, Zhang Fenfen, Chen Xiaogang, et al. 2020. Influence of submarine groundwater discharge in the blue carbon budget of typical mangrove: a case study from the Zhenzhu Bay, Guangxi. Haiyang Xuebao (in Chinese), 42(10): 37–46
[60]	Wang Yu, Xiang Peng, Ye Youyin, et al. 2015b. Ecological characteristics of phytoplankton community in the habitat of Sousa Chinensis at Sanniangwan Bay, Guangxi. Chinese Journal of Applied & Environmental Biology (in Chinese), 21(6): 1162–1169
[61]	Wang Zhangyong, Wang Guizhi, Wang Shuling. 2013. Estimation of submarine groundwater discharge into the Sanya River estuary in the winter using ²²³Ra and ²²⁴Ra as tracers. China Sciencepaper (in Chinese), 8(9): 915–919
[62]	Webb J R, Santos I R, Maher D T, et al. 2019. Groundwater as a source of dissolved organic matter to coastal waters: insights from radon and CDOM observations in 12 shallow coastal systems. Limnology and Oceanography, 64(1): 182–196. doi: 10.1002/lno.11028
[63]	Xu Bochao, Dimova N T, Zhao Liang, et al. 2013. Determination of water ages and flushing rates using short-lived radium isotopes in large estuarine system, the Yangtze River Estuary, China. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 121–122: 61–68. doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2013.02.005
[64]	Xu Shuqing, Li Jiaming, Lu Shibiao, et al. 2010. The status of Mangrove resources and sustainable development strategies in Beibu Gulf of Guangxi. Bulletin of Biology (in Chinese), 45(5): 11–14
[65]	Yang Bin, Kang Zhenjun, Lu Dongliang, et al. 2018. Spatial variations in the abundance and chemical speciation of phosphorus across the river-sea interface in the Northern Beibu Gulf. Water, 10(8): 1103. doi: 10.3390/w10081103
[66]	Yang Jing, Zhang Renduo, Zhao Zhuangming, et al. 2015. Temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of nutrients in the coastal seawater of Guangxi Beibu Gulf during the past 25 years. Ecology and Environmental Sciences (in Chinese), 24(9): 1493–1498
[67]	Zhao Shibin, Xu Bochao, Yao Qinzhen, et al. 2021. Nutrient-rich submarine groundwater discharge fuels the largest green tide in the world. Science of the Total Environment, 770: 144845. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144845
[68]	Zhang Yan, Santos I R, Li Hailong, et al. 2020. Submarine groundwater discharge drives coastal water quality and nutrient budgets at small and large scales. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 290: 201–215. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2020.08.026