The magnitude and origin of groundwater discharge to eastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico coastal waters
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Abstract
Fresh groundwater discharge to coastal environments contributes to the physical and chemical conditions of coastal waters, but the role of coastal groundwater at regional to continental scales remains poorly defined due to diverse hydrologic conditions and the difficulty of tracking coastal groundwater flow paths through heterogeneous subsurface materials. We use three-dimensional groundwater flow models for the first time to calculate the magnitude and source areas of groundwater discharge from unconfined aquifers to coastal waterbodies along the entire eastern U.S. We find that 27.1 km3/yr (22.8–30.5 km3/yr) of groundwater directly enters eastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico coastal waters. The contributing recharge areas comprised ~175,000 km2 of U.S. land area, extending several kilometers inland. This result provides new information on the land area that can supply natural and anthropogenic constituents to coastal waters via groundwater discharge, thereby defining the subterranean domain potentially affecting coastal chemical budgets and ecosystem processes.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | The magnitude and origin of groundwater discharge to eastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico coastal waters |
| Series title | Geophysical Research Letters |
| DOI | 10.1002/2017GL075238 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 20 |
| Year Published | 2017 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | AGU |
| Contributing office(s) | Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center |
| Description | 11 p. |
| First page | 10396 |
| Last page | 10406 |
| Country | United States |
| Other Geospatial | Gulf of Mexico |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |