<p>Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is a nutrient source to coastal waters. However, most SGD estimates are restricted to a local scale and hardly distinguish contributions from fresh (FSGD) and recirculated (RSGD) SGD. Here, we compiled data on radium/radon of groundwater (<i>n</i> ~ 2000) and seawater (<i>n</i> ~ 10,000) samples along ~18,000 km of China’s coastal seas to resolve large scale FSGD and RSGD and their associated nutrient loads. Nearshore-scale FSGD ( ~ 3.56 × 10<sup>8</sup> m<sup>3</sup> d<sup>−1</sup>) was only 2% of the total SGD but comparable to RSGD in terms of nutrient loads. Despite large uncertainties quantified via Monte Carlo simulations, SGD was a dominant contributor to China’s coastal nutrient budgets, with dissolved inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus and silicate fluxes of ~395, 2.9, and 581 Gmol a<sup>−1</sup>, respectively. Total SGD accounted for 19–54% of nutrient inputs, exceeding inputs from atmospheric deposition and rivers. Overall, SGD helps sustaining primary production along one of the most human-impacted marginal seas on Earth.</p>

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Large scale submarine groundwater discharge dominates nutrient inputs to China’s coast

  • Tianyi Zhu,
  • Shibin Zhao,
  • Bochao Xu,
  • Dongyan Liu,
  • M. Bayani Cardenas,
  • Huaming Yu,
  • Yan Zhang,
  • Xiaogang Chen,
  • Kai Xiao,
  • Lixin Yi,
  • Hyung-Mi Cho,
  • Sumei Liu,
  • Ziliang Zhang,
  • Ergang Lian,
  • William C. Burnett,
  • Guangquan Chen,
  • Zhigang Yu,
  • Isaac R. Santos

摘要

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is a nutrient source to coastal waters. However, most SGD estimates are restricted to a local scale and hardly distinguish contributions from fresh (FSGD) and recirculated (RSGD) SGD. Here, we compiled data on radium/radon of groundwater (n ~ 2000) and seawater (n ~ 10,000) samples along ~18,000 km of China’s coastal seas to resolve large scale FSGD and RSGD and their associated nutrient loads. Nearshore-scale FSGD ( ~ 3.56 × 108 m3 d−1) was only 2% of the total SGD but comparable to RSGD in terms of nutrient loads. Despite large uncertainties quantified via Monte Carlo simulations, SGD was a dominant contributor to China’s coastal nutrient budgets, with dissolved inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus and silicate fluxes of ~395, 2.9, and 581 Gmol a−1, respectively. Total SGD accounted for 19–54% of nutrient inputs, exceeding inputs from atmospheric deposition and rivers. Overall, SGD helps sustaining primary production along one of the most human-impacted marginal seas on Earth.