The exchange of groundwater between land and sea is a major component of the hydrological cycle. This exchange, called submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), is comprised of terrestrial water mixed with sea water that has infiltrated coastal aquifers. The composition of SGD differs from that predicted by simple mixing because biogeochemical reactions in the aquifer modify its chemistry. To emphasize the importance of mixing and chemical reaction, these coastal aquifers are called subterranean estuaries. Geologists recognize this mixing zone as a site of carbonate diagenesis and dolomite formation. Biologists have recognized that terrestrial inputs of nutrients to the coastal ocean may occur through subterranean processes. Further evidence of SGD comes from the distribution of chemical tracers in the coastal ocean. These tracers originate within coastal aquifers and reach the ocean through SGD. Tracer studies reveal that SGD provides globally important fluxes of nutrients, carbon, and metals to coastal waters.

海底地下水排泄是全球水循环的重要组成部分,是近岸、滩涂和河口地区典型而重要的海水—地下水相互作用过程。作为全球水循环的重要组成部分,海底地下水排泄是海洋中水和各种化学物质的重要来源之一,同时也是各种污染物从陆地向海洋输送的一个重要而隐蔽的通道。综述了海底地下水排泄（SGD）的研究现状与进展,对海底地下水排泄的过程、研究方法、研究分布以及环境意义等方面进行了详细介绍,指出了目前研究存在的不足和需要努力的方向,从而为我国开展大规模海底地下水排泄研究提供了一定的思路。

Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD), an important component of global water cycle, typical and important seawater-groundwater interaction process in coasts, intertidal zones and estuaries, is recently recognized as a research highlight on the land-ocean interaction. As an important component of global water cycle, SGD is not only one of the important sources of water and chemicals in the ocean, but also an important but hidden pathway for various contaminants transport between land and ocean. This paper reviews the research status and progresses of SGD, with a detailed description of the groundwater discharge process, research methods and spatial distribution and their corresponding environmental significance, etc. The deficiencies in present studies and prospects for future research are proposed to provide some thoughts and scientific basis for the research of large-scale SGD in our country.

The clam Meretrix meretrix was used as a biomonitor to implement an environmental monitoring program along the coast of Beibu Gulf in October 2011. This program not only analyzed biomarkers including acetylcholinesterase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase, catalase and superoxide dismutase activities, total glutathione content and lipid peroxidation level in M. meretrix but also adopted a multi-biomarker approach - integrated biomarker response (IBR) to assess the environmental quality in this ecosystem. In addition, the metal (Hg, As, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd and Cr) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) content in the surface sediment at the study area were also measured. The results showed that IBR index was able to distinguish a space trend between sampling sites with different degrees of anthropogenic environmental stress. Integrated contamination degree were displayed in the form of star plots and compared to IBR plots. There was a visual consistency between the pollution level and IBR variation. Based on the results, it was proved that the IBR method coupled with chemical analysis was quite useful for the assessment of environmental pollution in the coastal system.Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multiple tracers, including radium quartet, (222)Rn and silica are used to quantify submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) into Tolo Harbor, Hong Kong in 2005 and 2011. Five geotracer models based on the end member model of (228)Ra and salinity and mass balance models of (226)Ra, (228)Ra, (222)Rn, and silica were established and all the models lead to an estimate of the SGD rate of the same order of magnitude. In 2005 and 2011, respectively, the averaged SGD based on these models is estimated to be ≈ 5.42 cm d(-1) and ≈2.66 cm d(-1), the SGD derived DIN loadings to be 3.5 × 10(5) mol d(-1) and 1.5 × 10(5) mol d(-1), and DIP loadings to be 6.2 × 10(3) mol d(-1) and 1.1 × 10(3) mol d(-1). Groundwater borne nutrients are 1-2 orders of magnitude larger than other nutrient sources and the interannual variation of nutrient concentration in the embayment is more influenced by the SGD derived loadings. Annual DIP concentrations in the harbor water is positively correlated with the precipitation and annual mean tidal range, and negatively correlated with evapotranspiration from 2000 to 2013. Climatologically driven SGD variability alters the SGD derived DIP loadings in this phosphate limited environment and may be the causative factor of interannual variability of red tide outbreaks from 2000 to 2013. Finally, a conceptual model is proposed to characterize the response of red tide outbreaks to climatological factors linked by SGD. The findings from this study shed light on the prediction of red tide outbreaks and coastal management of Tolo Harbor and similar coastal embayments elsewhere.Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.