Seawater recirculation drives groundwater nutrient loading from a developed estuary shoreline with on-site wastewater treatment systems: Mobile Bay, USA

Beebe, Donald A.; Lowery, Beverly A.

doi:10.1007/s12665-018-7557-5

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…3− concentration in this study was up to three times higher than other coastal water studies in Dauphin Island (Plutchak et al, 2010) or Mobile Bay (Beebe and Lowery, 2018;Montiel et al, 2019b…”

Section: Disl Piercontrasting

confidence: 70%

Storm-Driven Fresh Submarine Groundwater Discharge and Nutrient Fluxes From a Barrier Island

et al. 2021

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Quantifying and characterizing groundwater flow and discharge from barrier islands to coastal waters is crucial for assessing freshwater resources and contaminant transport to the ocean. In this study, we examined the groundwater hydrological response, discharge, and associated nutrient fluxes in Dauphin Island, a barrier island located in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. We employed radon (222Rn) and radium (Ra) isotopes as tracers to evaluate the temporal and spatial variability of fresh and recirculated submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in the nearshore waters. The results from a 40-day continuous 222Rn time series conducted during a rainy season suggest that the coastal area surrounding Dauphin Island was river-dominated in the days after storm events. Groundwater response was detected about 1 week after the precipitation and peak river discharge. During the period when SGD was a factor in the nutrient budget of the coastal area, the total SGD rates were as high as 1.36 m day–1, or almost three times higher than detected fluxes during the river-dominated period. We found from a three-endmember Ra mixing model that most of the SGD from the barrier island was composed of fresh groundwater. SGD was driven by marine and terrestrial forces, and focused on the southeastern part of the island. We observed spatial variability of nutrients in the subterranean estuary across this part of the island. Reduced nitrogen (i.e., NH4+ and dissolved organic nitrogen) fluxes dominated the eastern shore with average rates of 4.88 and 5.20 mmol m–2 day–1, respectively. In contrast, NO3– was prevalent along the south-central shore, which has significant tourism developments. The contrasting nutrient dynamics resulted in N- and P-limited coastal water in the different parts of the island. This study emphasizes the importance of understanding groundwater flow and dynamics in barrier islands, particularly those urbanized, prone to storm events, or located near large estuaries.

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Section: Disl Piercontrasting

confidence: 70%

Storm-Driven Fresh Submarine Groundwater Discharge and Nutrient Fluxes From a Barrier Island

et al. 2021

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“…Su and coauthors also determined rates of SGD from radon and radium inventories, but did not distinguish between fresh and saline SGD or investigate seawater recirculation mechanisms. In nearby Mobile Bay and Saint George Sound, seawater recirculation through nutrient‐rich sediments can be a significant source of SGD nutrient loading (Adyasari et al., 2020, 2021; Beebe & Lowery, 2018; Montiel et al., 2019; Santos et al., 2009). Seawater recirculation may be a nutrient source for Little Lagoon (Su et al., 2014); however, previously described recirculation processes including tidal pumping, wave pumping, wave setup, and movement of the saline‐freshwater interface are likely dampened or absent here because of the restricted tidal range, limited fetch, and topographically limited inland head gradient.…”

Section: Setting Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric Groundwater Forcing of a Subterranean Estuary: A Seasonal Seawater Recirculation Process

Beebe

Huettemann

Webb

et al. 2022

Geophysical Research Letters

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Here we isolate groundwater responses to atmospheric forcing of surface water levels by relating anomalies in coastal aquifer hydraulic head time‐series to weather events. Our results demonstrate that atmospheric forcing has a greater effect on groundwater exchange and extended residence time over astronomical tidal pumping at times. During winter, atmospheric groundwater forcing was associated with winter storm passage and had a recurrence interval of approximately 7 days. During summer, atmospheric groundwater forcing was limited to weak diurnal atmospheric convection and infrequent tropical cyclone activity. Because winter storms and tropical cyclones commonly produce precipitation, atmospheric groundwater forcing can synergize with the timing of meteoric recharge producing periods of intense submarine groundwater discharge.

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“…It was historically assumed that NO 3 − supply would be limited at depth and benthic denitrification occurred only in shallow sediments. Recent research, however, has revealed that there can be substantial cycling of water between the deep sediments of submarine aquifers and the water column (Huettel, Berg, and Kostka 2014;Beebe and Lowery 2018). The impact of submarine groundwater mixing on system-scale benthic denitrification has been poorly quantified (Liefer et al 2014), but may play an important role in understanding the N r regulation services of benthic habitats.…”

Section: Benthic Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen regulation by natural systems in “unnatural” landscapes: denitrification in ultra-urban coastal ecosystems

Rosenzweig

Groffman

Zarnoch

et al. 2018

Ecosyst Health Sustain

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Dense cities represent biogeochemical hot spots along the shoreline, concentrating fixed nitrogen that is subsequently discharged into adjacent coastal receiving waters. Thus, the ecosystem services provided by natural systems in highly urban environments can play a particularly important role in the global nitrogen cycle. In this paper, we review the recent literature on nitrogen regulation by temperate coastal ecosystems, with a focus on how the distinct physical and biogeochemical features of the urban landscape can affect the provision of this ecosystem service. We use Jamaica Bay, an ultra-urbanized coastal lagoon in the United States of America, as a demonstrative case study. Based on simple areal and tidal-based calculations, the natural systems of Jamaica Bay remove~24% of the reactive nitrogen discharged by wastewater treatment plants. However, this estimate does not represent the dynamic nature of urban nitrogen cycling represented in the recent literature and highlights key research needs and opportunities. Our review reveals that ecosystem-facilitated denitrification may be significant in even the most densely urbanized coastal landscapes, but critical uncertainties currently limit incorporation of this ecosystem service in environmental management.

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Seawater recirculation drives groundwater nutrient loading from a developed estuary shoreline with on-site wastewater treatment systems: Mobile Bay, USA

Cited by 9 publications

References 63 publications

Storm-Driven Fresh Submarine Groundwater Discharge and Nutrient Fluxes From a Barrier Island

Storm-Driven Fresh Submarine Groundwater Discharge and Nutrient Fluxes From a Barrier Island

Atmospheric Groundwater Forcing of a Subterranean Estuary: A Seasonal Seawater Recirculation Process

Nitrogen regulation by natural systems in “unnatural” landscapes: denitrification in ultra-urban coastal ecosystems

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