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Global estimate of submarine groundwater discharge based on an observationally constrained radium isotope model
Author(s) -
Kwon Eun Young,
Kim Guebuem,
Primeau Francois,
Moore Willard S.,
Cho HyungMi,
DeVries Timothy,
Sarmiento Jorge L.,
Charette Matthew A.,
Cho YangKi
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2014gl061574
Subject(s) - submarine groundwater discharge , oceanography , groundwater , environmental science , submarine , flux (metallurgy) , seawater , hydrology (agriculture) , radionuclide , geology , aquifer , materials science , quantum mechanics , metallurgy , physics , geotechnical engineering
Along the continental margins, rivers and submarine groundwater supply nutrients, trace elements, and radionuclides to the coastal ocean, supporting coastal ecosystems and, increasingly, causing harmful algal blooms and eutrophication. While the global magnitude of gauged riverine water discharge is well known, the magnitude of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is poorly constrained. Using an inverse model combined with a global compilation of 228 Ra observations, we show that the SGD integrated over the Atlantic and Indo‐Pacific Oceans between 60°S and 70°N is (12 ± 3) × 10 13 m 3 yr −1 , which is 3 to 4 times greater than the freshwater fluxes into the oceans by rivers. Unlike the rivers, where more than half of the total flux is discharged into the Atlantic, about 70% of SGD flows into the Indo‐Pacific Oceans. We suggest that SGD is the dominant pathway for dissolved terrestrial materials to the global ocean, and this necessitates revisions for the budgets of chemical elements including carbon.