Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2011DE210B

Characterization of Submarine Groundwater Discharge Sites in a Coastal Lagoon

Institute: Delaware
Year Established: 2010 Start Date: 2011-03-01 End Date: 2012-02-29
Total Federal Funds: $3,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $6,000

Principal Investigators: Alan Andres, Stephen Gonski

Abstract: Coastal estuarine ecosystems throughout the world are increasingly threatened by eutrophication caused by excess nutrients introduced by human land use and rapidly-growing coastal populations. Direct discharge of fresh and saline groundwater into coastal surface waters, termed submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), is an important pathway for transport of these nutrients, but the factors affecting chemical transformations of nutrient species in the subsurface prior to discharge are not well-known. The objectives of this project are for the DWRC intern to gain practical knowledge and experience in the installation of field monitoring devices, acquisition and management of hydrogeologic data, and interpretation and analysis of data in the context of characterizing SGD sites. The intern will prepare a brief report describing the project design and results. The intern supported in this project will participate in a multi-disciplinary study to characterize and simulate physical and chemical conditions of submarine groundwater discharge sites in Indian River Bay. Project components include: installations of monitoring wells, pore water samplers, seepage meters, and test borings; sampling and measurements of sediments and waters; compilation and quality assurance of field and laboratory data; discussion of findings with senior project personnel; and, compiling a report of findings.