Cost-effective recreational-grade single beam echosounder with side scan sonar system in imaging bubbly coastal submarine groundwater discharge

<p>Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is any direct flow of fluid across the seafloor, which forms bubbly or leaky springs and seeps from the intertidal zone to the deep sea. SGDs can significantly alter physico-chemical conditions of seepage zones. Identifying and mapping SGD is crucial to further recognize its influence in both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. However, mapping this phenomenon has been a continuing challenge, mainly due to the difficulty in its detection and quantification. This study explores the capability and applicability of an inexpensive, commercially available, recreational-grade combination of depth meter and side scan sonar system to image different types and identify point sources of coastal SGDs. Standard and systematic methodologies for efficient imaging and processing were established. The utility of the recreational-grade system was assessed and validated using a research-grade side scan sonar. SCUBA diving and CTD casting were conducted for ground-truthing and further characterization. Lower frequency sonars (83/200 kHz) showed more distinct acoustic signatures of discrete and dispersed bubbly SGDs, than the higher frequency system (455 kHz and 780 kHz research-grade unit). Sonar images showed that SGD plumes can be indicated by near seafloor to midwater cloud-like features. Spring-type SGDs tend to form cloud features with a funnel-shaped morphology. In sites where SGDs are dispersed, the acoustic signature is a curtain-like cloud, with higher bubble density in the upper water column. This is consistent with diver-based observation of increasing bubble sizes (<1 mm to ~30 mm) from point source to water surface. CTD casts indicate that the SGDs have recirculated seawater, with increasing temperature and salinity with depth. In the assessment of system and data processing requirements, and costing, a recreational-grade unit provides a good alternative for coastal SGD works.</p>

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Assessing land–ocean connectivity via submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in the Ria Formosa Lagoon (Portugal): combining radon measurements and stable isotope hydrology

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-20-3077-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 20 (8) ◽

pp. 3077-3098 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Carlos Rocha ◽

Cristina Veiga-Pires ◽

Jan Scholten ◽

Kay Knoeller ◽

Darren R. Gröcke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Submarine Groundwater Discharge ◽

Large Fraction ◽

Groundwater Discharge ◽

Point Sources ◽

Total N ◽

Ria Formosa ◽

Basin Scale ◽

Wide Range ◽

Dominant Feature ◽

Submarine Groundwater

Abstract. Natural radioactive tracer-based assessments of basin-scale submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) are well developed. However, SGD takes place in different modes and the flow and discharge mechanisms involved occur over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Quantifying SGD while discriminating its source functions therefore remains a major challenge. However, correctly identifying both the fluid source and composition is critical. When multiple sources of the tracer of interest are present, failure to adequately discriminate between them leads to inaccurate attribution and the resulting uncertainties will affect the reliability of SGD solute loading estimates. This lack of reliability then extends to the closure of local biogeochemical budgets, confusing measures aiming to mitigate pollution.Here, we report a multi-tracer study to identify the sources of SGD, distinguish its component parts and elucidate the mechanisms of their dispersion throughout the Ria Formosa – a seasonally hypersaline lagoon in Portugal. We combine radon budgets that determine the total SGD (meteoric + recirculated seawater) in the system with stable isotopes in water (δ2H, δ18O), to specifically identify SGD source functions and characterize active hydrological pathways in the catchment. Using this approach, SGD in the Ria Formosa could be separated into two modes, a net meteoric water input and another involving no net water transfer, i.e., originating in lagoon water re-circulated through permeable sediments. The former SGD mode is present occasionally on a multi-annual timescale, while the latter is a dominant feature of the system. In the absence of meteoric SGD inputs, seawater recirculation through beach sediments occurs at a rate of ∼  1.4  ×  106 m3 day−1. This implies that the entire tidal-averaged volume of the lagoon is filtered through local sandy sediments within 100 days ( ∼  3.5 times a year), driving an estimated nitrogen (N) load of ∼  350 Ton N yr−1 into the system as NO3−. Land-borne SGD could add a further ∼  61 Ton N yr−1 to the lagoon. The former source is autochthonous, continuous and responsible for a large fraction (59 %) of the estimated total N inputs into the system via non-point sources, while the latter is an occasional allochthonous source capable of driving new production in the system.

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Submarine groundwater discharge site in the First Salpausselkä ice-marginal formation, south Finland

Solid Earth ◽

10.5194/se-10-405-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 405-423 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Joonas J. Virtasalo ◽

Jan F. Schröder ◽

Samrit Luoma ◽

Juha Majaniemi ◽

Juha Mursu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Depth ◽

Submarine Groundwater Discharge ◽

Groundwater Discharge ◽

Fine Sand ◽

Seismic Profiles ◽

Side Scan Sonar ◽

Shore Platform ◽

Refraction Seismic ◽

Submarine Groundwater ◽

Sonar Images

Abstract. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) has been implicated as a significant source of nutrients and potentially harmful substances to the coastal sea. Although the number of reported SGD sites has increased recently, their stratigraphical architecture and aquifer geometry are rarely investigated in detail. This study analyses a multifaceted dataset of offshore seismic sub-bottom profiles, multibeam and side-scan sonar images of the seafloor, radon measurements of seawater and groundwater, and onshore ground-penetrating radar and refraction seismic profiles in order to establish the detailed stratigraphical architecture of a high-latitude SGD site, which is connected to the Late-Pleistocene First Salpausselkä ice-marginal formation on the Hanko Peninsula in Finland. The studied location is characterized by a sandy beach, a sandy shore platform that extends 100–250 m seaward sloping gently to ca. 4 m water depth, and a steep slope to ca. 17 m water depth within ca. 50 m distance. The onshore radar and offshore seismic profiles are correlated based on unconformities, following the allostratigraphical approach. The aquifer is hosted in the distal sand-dominated part of a subaqueous ice-contact fan. It is interpreted that coarse sand interbeds and lenses in the distal fan deposits, and, potentially, sandy couplet layers in the overlying glaciolacustrine rhythmite, provide conduits for localized groundwater flow. The SGD takes place predominantly through pockmarks on the seafloor, which are documented on the shore platform slope by multibeam and side-scan sonar images. Elevated radon-222 activity concentrations measured 1 m above seafloor confirm SGD from two pockmarks in fine sand sediments, whereas there was no discharge from a third pockmark that was covered with a thin organic-rich mud layer. The thorough understanding of the local stratigraphy and the geometry and composition of the aquifer that have been acquired in this study are crucial for successful hydrogeological modelling and flux studies at the SGD site.

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Assessing land–ocean connectivity via Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) in the Ria Formosa Lagoon (Portugal): combining radon measurements and stable isotope hydrology

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/hessd-12-12433-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 12433-12482 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

C. Rocha ◽

C. Veiga-Pires ◽

J. Scholten ◽

K. Knoeller ◽

D. R. Gröcke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Submarine Groundwater Discharge ◽

Large Fraction ◽

Groundwater Discharge ◽

Point Sources ◽

New Production ◽

Total N ◽

Ria Formosa ◽

Basin Scale ◽

Wide Range ◽

Submarine Groundwater

Abstract. Natural radioactive tracer-based assessments of basin-scale Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) are well developed, but because of the different modes in which SGD takes place and the wide range of spatial and temporal scales under which the flow and discharge mechanisms involved occur, quantifying SGD while discriminating its source functions remains a major challenge. Yet, correctly identifying both the fluid source and composition is critical: when multiple sources of the tracer of interest are present, failure to adequately discriminate between them will lead to inaccurate attribution and the resulting uncertainties will affect the reliability of SGD solute loading estimates. This lack of reliability then extends to the closure of local biogeochemical budgets, confusing measures aiming to mitigate pollution. Here, we report a multi-tracer study to identify the sources of SGD, distinguish its component parts and elucidate the mechanisms of their dispersion throughout the Ria Formosa – a seasonally hypersaline lagoon in Portugal. We combine radon budgets that determine the total SGD (meteoric + recirculated seawater) in the system with stable isotopes in water (2H, 18O), to specifically identify SGD source functions and characterize active hydrological pathways in the catchment. Using this approach, SGD in the Ria Formosa could be separated into a net water input and another involving no net water transfer, i.e. originating in seawater recirculation through permeable sediments. The former SGD mode is present occasionally on a multiannual timescale, while the latter is a permanent feature of the system. In the absence of meteoric SGD inputs, seawater recirculation through beach sediments occurs at a rate of ~ 1.4 × 106 m3 day−1, implying the entire tidal-averaged volume of the lagoon is filtered through local sandy sediments within 100 days, or about 3.5 times a year, driving an estimated nitrogen (N) load of ~ 350 t N yr−1 into the system as NO3−. Land-borne SGD could add a further ~ 61 t N yr−1 to the lagoon. The former source is autochthonous, continuous and responsible for a large fraction (59 %) of the estimated total N inputs into the system via non-point sources, while the latter is an occasional allochthonous source, so more difficult to predict, but capable of driving new production in the system.

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