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, pH, radium isotopes, and nutrients), the HRE was subdivided into six different zones, and the SGD fluxes within each zone were quantified and compared. The highest SGD flux was found in the northwest nearshore zone, where it was more than one order of magnitude higher than in the offshore zone. High SGD resulted in low DO and pH, but high nutrient levels in the benthic boundary layer. The southeast nearshore zone was also characterized by high SGD flux, but benthic waters were more oxic because of the dominating inputs by the Huanghe River. These data suggest that such a zonation would help to understand benthic biogeochemical processes. High SGD may not only contribute to the estuarine nutrient budget, but may also contribute to the formation of hypoxia and acidification.

Guangquan Chen;Bochao Xu;Shibin Zhao;Disong Yang;William C.Burnett;Shaobo Diao;Maosheng Gao;Xingyong Xu;Lisha Wang

Key Laboratory of Coastal Science and Integrated Management,First Institute of Oceanography,Ministry of Natural Resources,Qingdao 266061,China;Laboratory for Marine Geology,Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology(Qingdao),Qingdao 266237,China;Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System/Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology of Ministry of Education,Ocean University of China,Qingdao 266100,China;Marine Ecology and Environmental Science Laboratory,Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology(Qingdao),Qingdao 266237,China;College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,Ocean University of China,Qingdao 266100,China;Department of Earth,Ocean and Atmospheric Science,Florida State University,Tallahassee 32306,USA;Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology,China Geological Survey,Qingdao 266071,China

海洋学报（英文版）

[1]Guangquan Chen;Bochao Xu;Shibin Zhao;Disong Yang;William C.Burnett;Shaobo Diao;Maosheng Gao;Xingyong Xu;Lisha Wang-.Submarine groundwater discharge and benthic biogeochemical zonation in the Huanghe River Estuary)[J].海洋学报（英文版）,2022(01):11-20

Huanghe,radium

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