Global subterranean estuaries modify groundwater nutrient loading to the ocean

• Published in: Limnology and oceanography letters Vol. 9; no. 4; pp. 411 - 422
• Main Authors: Wilson, Stephanie J., Moody, Amy, McKenzie, Tristan, Cardenas, M. Bayani, Luijendijk, Elco, Sawyer, Audrey H., Wilson, Alicia, Michael, Holly A., Xu, Bochao, Knee, Karen L., Cho, Hyung‐Mi, Weinstein, Yishai, Paytan, Adina, Moosdorf, Nils, Chen, Chen‐Tung Aurthur, Beck, Melanie, Lopez, Cody, Murgulet, Dorina, Kim, Guebuem, Charette, Mathew A., Waska, Hannelore, Ibánhez, J. Severino P., Chaillou, Gwénaëlle, Oehler, Till, Onodera, Shin‐ichi, Saito, Mitsuyo, Rodellas, Valenti, Dimova, Natasha, Montiel, Daniel, Dulai, Henrietta, Richardson, Christina, Du, Jinzhou, Petermann, Eric, Chen, Xiaogang, Davis, Kay L., Lamontagne, Sebastien, Sugimoto, Ryo, Wang, Guizhi, Li, Hailong, Torres, Américo I., Demir, Cansu, Bristol, Emily, Connolly, Craig T., McClelland, James W., Silva, Brenno J., Tait, Douglas, Kumar, BSK, Viswanadham, R., Sarma, VVSS, Silva‐Filho, Emmanoel, Shiller, Alan, Lecher, Alanna, Tamborski, Joseph, Bokuniewicz, Henry, Rocha, Carlos, Reckhardt, Anja, Böttcher, Michael Ernst, Jiang, Shan, Stieglitz, Thomas, Gbewezoun, Houégnon Géraud Vinel, Charbonnier, Céline, Anschutz, Pierre, Hernández‐Terrones, Laura M., Babu, Suresh, Szymczycha, Beata, Sadat‐Noori, Mahmood, Niencheski, Felipe, Null, Kimberly, Tobias, Craig, Song, Bongkeun, Anderson, Iris C., Santos, Isaac R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.08.2024; Wiley
• Subjects: Aquifers; Biogeochemistry; Budgets; Coastal waters; Datasets; Dissolved organic phosphorus; Earth Sciences; Environmental Sciences; Estimates; Estuaries; Eutrophication; Geochemistry; Groundwater discharge; Lithology; Miljövetenskap; Nitrogen; Nutrient loading; Nutrients; Oceanografi, hydrologi och vattenresurser; Oceanography; Oceanography, Hydrology and Water Resources; Oceans; Organic nitrogen; Phosphorus; Primary production; Salinity; Sciences of the Universe; Seawater; Sediments; Termites; Water analysis; Water quality; Water sampling
• ISSN: 2378-2242; 2378-2242
• DOI: 10.1002/lol2.10390

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.