Quantitative estimation of submarine groundwater discharge using airborne thermal infrared data acquired at two different tidal heights

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) plays an important role in coastal biogeochemical processes and hydrological cycles, particularly off volcanic islands in oligotrophic oceans. However, the spatial and temporal variations of SGD are still poorly understood owing to difficulty in taking rapid SGD measurements over a large scale. In this study, we used four airborne thermal infrared surveys (twice each during high and low tides) to quantify the spatiotemporal variations of SGD over the entire coast of Jeju Island, Korea. On the basis of an analytical model, we found a linear positive correlation between the thermal anomaly and squares of the groundwater discharge velocity and a negative exponential correlation between the anomaly and water depth (including tide height and bathymetry). We then derived a new equation for quantitatively estimating the SGD flow rates from thermal anomalies acquired at two different tide heights. The proposed method was validated with the measured SGD flow rates using a current meter at Gongcheonpo Beach. We believe that the method can be effectively applied for rapid estimation of SGD over coastal areas, where fresh groundwater discharge is significant, using airborne thermal infrared surveys.     

Submarine groundwater discharge revealed by aerial thermal infrared imagery: a case study on Jeju Island,Korea

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is a global phenomenon that carries large volumes of groundwater and dissolved chemical species such as nutrient, metals, and organic compounds to coastal zones. We report the influence of SGD on the coastal waters of Jeju Island, Korea, using high‐resolution aerial thermal infrared (TIR) mapping techniques and field investigations. An aircraft‐based system was implemented using a cost‐effective TIR camera for aerial TIR mapping. Ground‐based calibrations and system integration with GPS/IMU (global positioning system/inertial measurement unit) were performed for the aerial systems. The aerial surveys showed distinct low‐temperature signatures of SGD along the coasts of Jeju Island, revealing large groundwater inputs from the coastal aquifers to the ocean. Multiple aerial surveys over a range of seasons and tidal stages revealed that SGD rates dynamically affect the sea surface temperature (SST) of the coastal zone. The in‐situ measurements supported that SGD has a substantial influence on the coastal water chemistry as well as SST. Our observations highlight the extent to which aerial‐based TIR mapping can serve as a powerful tool for studying SGD and other coastal processes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Submarine groundwater discharge and benthic biogeochemical zonation in the Huanghe River Estuary

Submarine groundwater discharge(SGD) has received increasing attention by studies on coastal areas; however,its effects on biogeochemical zonation have not been investigated to date. The Huanghe River Estuary(HRE) is a world class river estuary with high turbidity, and heavy human regulation. This study investigated how SGD is related to the benthic biogeochemistry of the HRE. Based on the distribution of several parameters(e.g., salinity,temperature, dissolved oxygen(DO) levels, p H, radium iso...     

苏北浅滩海底地下水排放及其对海域营养盐通量的贡献

海底地下水排放(SGD)是近海海域的一个重要的营养盐来源。本研究借助多种天然镭同位素对春季苏北浅滩海域的SGD及其携带入海的营养盐通量进行量化评估。研究发现:苏北浅滩海域的~(224)Ra、~(223)Ra和~(226)Ra等镭同位素的浓度水平较高,呈现近岸高、远岸低的分布趋势;根据~(224)Ra/~(226)Ra的"表观年龄模型"估算的水龄的分布情况推断,春季该海域表层水体主体流向为东北向,流速约为0.1m/s,这与前人物理海洋数值模拟结果一致;最终利用226Ra质量平衡模型发现海域的SGD通量为(46±29)cm/d,由其携带入海的溶解态无机氮、磷、硅营养盐(DIN、 DIP、 DSi)等的通量分别为(2.6±3.1)×1~09、(3.0±2.5)×10~6和(5.5±4.2)×10~8mol/d。     

A spectral gradient difference based approach for land cover change detection

Change detection with remotely sensed imagery plays an important role in land cover mapping, process analysis and dynamic information services. Euclidean distance, correlation and other mathematic metrics between spectral curves have been used to calculate change magnitude in most change detection methods. However, many pseudo changes would also be detected because of inter-class spectral variance, which remains a significant challenge for operational remote sensing applications. In general, different land cover types have their own spectral curves characterized by typical spectral values and shapes. These spectral values are widely used for designing change detection algorithms. However, the shape of spectral curves has not yet been fully considered. This paper proposes to use spectral gradient difference (SGD) to quantitatively describe the spectral shapes and the differences in shape between two spectra. Change magnitude calculated in the new spectral gradient space is used to detect the change/no-change areas. Then, a chain model is employed to represent the SGD pattern both qualitatively and quantitatively. Finally, the land cover change types are determined by pattern matching with the knowledgebase of reference SGD patterns. The effectiveness of this SGD-based change detection approach was verified by a simulation experiment and a case study of Landsat data. The results indicated that the SGD-based approach was superior to the traditional methods.     

Assessment of terrestrial factors controlling the submarine groundwater discharge in water shortage and highly deformed Island of Taiwan,Western Pacific Ocean

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) from seventeen sites was investigated on the coasts around Taiwan in order to verify its occurrences and to understand its characteristics. The fresh water fraction (FWF) in most pore water samples, except the Fangsan sampling site, range from 0 to 59% based on the salinity evidence. The relative low FWF evidence implies that the recirculated saline groundwater discharge (RSGD) is more important than the submarine fresh groundwater discharge (SFGD) in most sampling sites. Fangsan, which is located at the southwestern coast of Taiwan, has nearly 100% FWF in SGD. Evaluation of the relationship between the magnitude of SGD flux and geological type of the Taiwanese coast proves to be difficult because complex hydrological factors affect the SGD, rather than the coastal topography. According to the hydrological evidence, the modeled-SGD discharge is enhanced by high precipitation but is generally reduced by severe groundwater pumping. In addition, modeled-SGD has an inverse relationship with river base flow, indicating the river effect. The almost fresh SGD with flow rates ranged from 34 to 42 m/year at Fangsan deserves attention because a seven-year-long groundwater budget calculation implies that the aquifer could not supply so much fresh SGD over a large area. This suggests that a significant amount of fresh water SGD at Fangsan is derived from a point source via a fault passage, considering its geological background. Although the rudimentary salinity and stable isotope results indicate that RSGD plays an important role in SGD, the type of submarine spring discharge via fault zones may very well be the most prominent in highly deformed areas elsewhere in the world, too.     

Risk assessment of secondary geological disasters induced by the Yushu earthquake

The Yushu Ms 7.1 earthquake occurred on April 14,2010 in Qinghai Province,China.It induced a mass of secondary geological disasters,such as collapses,landslides,and debris flows.Risk assessment maps are important for geological disaster prevention and mitigation,and also can serve as a guide for post-earthquake reconstruction.Firstly,a hazard assessment index system of secondary geological disasters in the earthquake region was built in this paper,which was based on detailed analysis of environmental and triggering factors closely related to geological disasters in the study area.GIS technology was utilized to extract and analyze the assessment index.Hazard assessment maps of secondary geological disasters were obtained by spatial modeling and overlaying analysis.Secondly,an analysis of the vulnerability of hazard bearing bodies in the area was conducted,important information,such as, population density,percentage of arable land, industrial and agricultural outputs per unit area were regarded as assessment indices to evaluate socioeconomic vulnerability.Thirdly,the risk level of secondary geological disasters of the area was obtained by the formula:Risk=Hazard×Vulnerability. Risk assessment maps were categorized into four levels,including"low","moderate","high"and"very high".These results show that some urban areas are at very high risk,including Jiegu,Chengwen,Xiaxiula and Sahuteng towns.This research can provide some references and suggestions to improve decisionmaking support for emergency relief and post- earthquake reconstruction in the study area.     

基于地表水-地下水耦合模型的海底地下淡水排放量估算

陆源地下淡水排泄（SFGD）作为海底地下水排泄（SGD）中的重要组成部分,带来大量陆源营养物质,是陆地向海洋输送化学物质重要且隐蔽的通道。本文将完全耦合的分布式水文物理模型PIHM开发应用到广东省东南部沿海地区,旨在通过构建海岸地表水-地下水耦合模型,对SFGD通量进行时空变异分析,进一步理解沿海流域与河口之间的水文过程。结果表明,（1）对SFGD与相关影响因子进行多元回归分析,结果表明当地形坡度i ≤2%时,地形坡度是SFGD的主控因子,地形坡度越大,SFGD速率越大,当i >2%时,SFGD与各影响因子均无显著相关。（2）研究区域子流域之间SFGD排放速率差异主要是流域形状以及地形差异造成的,螺河流域片区海岸线短且沿海地区主要为平原地区,因此年均单位长度SFGD通量小。（3）在主要降雨事件中,SFGD比地表径流对降雨的响应更快,峰值出现时间比地表径流平均早1-3天。利用地表水-地下水耦合模型研究SFGD通量的时空变异规律为海底地下水排泄估算提供了新途径,为未来沿海生态管理规划提供了科学参考。     

Investigation of submarine groundwater discharge to tidal rivers: Evidence for regional and local scale seepage

Fluxes of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) were investigated into two tidal rivers on the north and south shore of Long Island, NY, during July 2015. Ground‐based handheld thermal infrared (TIR) imagery, combined with direct push‐point piezometer sampling, documented spatially heterogeneous small‐scale intertidal seepage zones. Pore waters were relatively fresh and enriched in nitrogen (N) within these small‐scale seeps. Pore waters sampled just 20 cm away, outside the boundary of the ground‐based TIR‐located seepage zone, were more saline and lower in N. These ground‐based TIR‐identified seeps geochemically represented the terrestrial fresh groundwater endmember, whereas N in pore waters sampled outside of the TIR‐identified seeps was derived from the remineralization of organic matter introduced into the sediment by tidal seawater infiltration. A ²²²Rn (radon‐222) time‐series was used to quantify fresh SGD‐associated N fluxes using the N endmembers sampled from the ground‐based TIR pore water profiles. N fluxes were up‐scaled to groundwater seepage zones identified from high‐resolution airborne TIR imagery using the two‐dimensional size of the airborne TIR surface water anomalies, relative to the N flux from the time‐series sampling location. Results suggest that the N load from the north‐shore tidal river to Long Island Sound is underrepresented by at least 1.6–3.6%, whereas the N load from SGD to a south‐shore tidal river may be up to 9% higher than previous estimates. These results demonstrate the importance of SGD in supplying nutrients to the lower reaches of tidal rivers and suggest that N loads in other tidal river environments may be underestimated if SGD is not accounted for.     

Submarine groundwater discharge to Great South Bay, NY, estimated using Ra isotopes

There is increasing evidence that submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in many areas represents a major source of dissolved chemical constituents to the coastal ocean. In Great South Bay, NY, previous studies have shown that the discharge of nutrients with SGD may cause harmful algal blooms. This study estimates SGD to Great South Bay during August 2006 by performing a mass balance for each of the dissolved Ra isotopes (²²⁴Ra, ²²³Ra, ²²⁸Ra, ²²⁶Ra). The budget indicates a major unknown source (between 30 and 60% of the total input) of Ra to the bay. This imbalance can be resolved by a flux of Ra-enriched groundwater on the order of 3.5–4.5 × 10⁹ L d^− 1, depending on the Ra isotope. The Ra-estimated SGD rates compare well with those previously estimated by models of flow that decreases exponentially away from shore. Compared to previous reports of fresh groundwater discharge to the bay, the Ra-estimated discharge must comprise approximately 90% recirculated seawater. The good agreement between Ra- and model-estimated flow rates indicates that the primary SGD endmember may be best sampled at shallow depths in the sediments a short distance bayward of the low tide line.