Present and future thermal regimes of intertidal groundwater springs in a threatened coastal ecosystem

Simple item page

Simple item page

Full item details

dc.contributor.author
KarisAllen, Jason J.
Mohammed, Aaron A.
Tamborski, Joseph J.
Jamieson, Rob C.
Danielescu, Serban
Kurylyk, Barret L.
dc.date.accepted
2022-08-23
dc.date.accessioned
2024-01-30T16:20:01Z
dc.date.available
2024-01-30T16:20:01Z
dc.date.issued
2022-09-28
dc.date.submitted
2022-02-02
dc.description.abstract - en
In inland settings, groundwater discharge thermally modulates receiving surface water bodies and provides localized thermal refuges; however, the thermal influence of intertidal springs on coastal waters and their thermal sensitivity to climate change are not well studied. We addressed this knowledge gap with a field- and model-based study of a threatened coastal lagoon ecosystem in southeastern Canada. We paired analyses of drone-based thermal imagery with in situ thermal and hydrologic monitoring to estimate discharge to the lagoon from intertidal springs and groundwater-dominated streams in summer 2020. Results, which were generally supported by independent radon-based groundwater discharge estimates, revealed that combined summertime spring inflows (0.047 m<sup>3</sup> s<sup>−1</sup>) were comparable to combined stream inflows (0.050 m<sup>3</sup> s<sup>−1</sup>). Net advection values for the streams and springs were also comparable to each other but were 2 orders of magnitude less than the downwelling shortwave radiation across the lagoon. Although lagoon-scale thermal effects of groundwater inflows were small compared to atmospheric forcing, spring discharge dominated heat transfer at a local scale, creating pronounced cold-water plumes along the shoreline. A numerical model was used to interpret measured groundwater temperature data and investigate seasonal and multi-decadal groundwater temperature patterns. Modelled seasonal temperatures were used to relate measured spring temperatures to their respective aquifer source depths, while multi-decadal simulations forced by historic and projected climate data were used to assess long-term groundwater warming. Based on the 2020–2100 climate scenarios (for which 5-year-averaged air temperature increased up to 4.32∘), modelled 5-year-averaged subsurface temperatures increased 0.08–2.23∘ in shallow groundwater (4.2 m depth) and 0.32–1.42∘ in the deeper portion of the aquifer (13.9 m), indicating the depth dependency of warming. This study presents the first analysis of the thermal sensitivity of groundwater-dependent coastal ecosystems to climate change and indicates that coastal ecosystem management should consider potential impacts of groundwater warming.
dc.identifier.doi
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4721-2022
dc.identifier.issn
1607-7938
1812-2116
dc.identifier.uri
https://science-ouverte.canada.ca/handle/123456789/1915
dc.language.iso
en
dc.publisher
European Geosciences Union
dc.rights - en
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
dc.rights - fr
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
dc.rights.openaccesslevel - en
Gold
dc.rights.openaccesslevel - fr
Or
dc.rights.uri - en
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.rights.uri - fr
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.fr
dc.subject - en
Nature and environment
Water
Science and technology
dc.subject - fr
Nature et environnement
Eau
Sciences et technologie
dc.subject.en - en
Nature and environment
Water
Science and technology
dc.subject.fr - fr
Nature et environnement
Eau
Sciences et technologie
dc.title - en
Present and future thermal regimes of intertidal groundwater springs in a threatened coastal ecosystem
dc.type - en
Article
dc.type - fr
Article
local.article.journalissue
18
local.article.journaltitle
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
local.article.journalvolume
26
local.pagination
4721–4740
local.peerreview - en
Yes
local.peerreview - fr
Oui
local.requestdoi
No
Download(s)

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

Thumbnail image

Name: PresentFutureThermalRegimesIntertidalGroundwaterSpringsThreatenedCoastalEcosystem.pdf

Size: 6.42 MB

Format: PDF

Download file

Collection(s)

Page details

Date modified: