From soil to sea: the role of groundwater in coastal critical zone processes

Abstract

Near coasts, surface water–groundwater interactions control many biogeochemical processes associated with the critical zone, which extends from shallow aquifer to vegetative canopy. For example, submarine groundwater discharge delivers a significant fraction of weathering products such as silica and calcium to the world's oceans. Owing to changing fertilizer and land use practices, submarine groundwater discharge is also responsible for high nitrogen loads that drive eutrophication in marine waters. Submarine groundwater discharge is generally unmonitored due to its heterogeneous and diffuse spatial patterns and complex temporal dynamics. Here, we review the physical processes that drive submarine groundwater discharge at various spatial and temporal scales and highlight examples of interdependent critical zone processes. Like the inland critical zone, the coastal critical zone is undergoing rapid change in the Anthropocene. Disturbances include warming air and sea temperatures, sea-level rise, increasing storm severity, increasing nutrient and contaminant inputs, and ocean acidification. In a changing world, it is more important than ever to understand complex feedbacks between dynamic surface water-groundwater interaction, rocks, and life through long-term monitoring efforts that extend beyond inland rivers to coastal groundwater. WIREs Water 2016, 3:706–726. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1157. This article is categorized under: Water and Life > Nature of Freshwater Ecosystems Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change Science of Water > Water Quality.