Submarine groundwater discharge as a major source of nutrients to the Mediterranean Sea

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Valentí RodellasYishai Weinstein

Abstract

The Mediterranean Sea (MS) is a semienclosed basin that is considered one of the most oligotrophic seas in the world. In such an environment, inputs of allochthonous nutrients and micronutrients play an important role in sustaining primary productivity. Atmospheric deposition and riverine runoff have been traditionally considered the main external sources of nutrients to the MS, whereas the role of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) has been largely ignored. However, given the large Mediterranean shore length relative to its surface area, SGD may be a major conveyor of dissolved compounds to the MS. Here, we used a (228)Ra mass balance to demonstrate that the total SGD contributes up to (0.3-4.8)⋅10(12) m(3) ⋅ y(-1) to the MS, which appears to be equal or larger by a factor of 16 to the riverine discharge. SGD is also a major source of dissolved inorganic nutrients to the MS, with median annual fluxes of 190⋅10(9), 0.7⋅10(9), and 110⋅10(9) mol for nitrogen, phosphorous, and silica, respectively, which are comparable to riverine and atmospheric inputs. This corroborates the profound implications that SGD may have for the biogeochemical cycles of the MS. Inputs of other dissolved compounds (e.g., iron, carbon) via SGD could al...Continue Reading

References

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May 27, 2011·Environmental Science & Technology·Yishai WeinsteinBarak Herut

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Citations

Sep 26, 2015·Annual Review of Marine Science·Elizabeth A Canuel, Amber K Hardison
May 11, 2016·The Science of the Total Environment·Marly C Martínez-SotoGotzon Basterretxea
Jun 21, 2016·The Science of the Total Environment·Mahmood Sadat-NooriDamien T Maher
Jul 14, 2016·Environmental Science & Technology·Helen R PowleyPhilippe Van Cappellen
Oct 21, 2018·Environmental Monitoring and Assessment·Jing ZhangGuo Sen Zhang
Aug 5, 2018·Scientific Reports·Shu-Lun WangYi-Jie Lin
May 31, 2019·Scientific Reports·Fuxing Wang, Jan Polcher
Aug 25, 2020·Current Climate Change Reports·Roland SéférianAkitomo Yamamoto
Oct 17, 2017·Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences·Matthew A CharetteJordi Garcia-Orellana
Oct 17, 2017·Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences·Catherine Jeandel
Dec 1, 2019·Marine Pollution Bulletin·Paolo VassalloCarlo Nike Bianchi
Nov 12, 2020·Marine Pollution Bulletin·Mintu Elezebath GeorgeD S Suresh Babu
Feb 5, 2021·FEMS Microbiology Reviews·Clara Ruiz-GonzálezJordi Garcia-Orellana

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