A preliminary investigation on the spatial and temporal distribution of submarine groundwater discharge in the northern Beibu Gulf as indicated by 222Rn activities

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1001-909X.2023.02.008

Abstract

Abstract:

The radioactive isotope radon-222(²²²Rn) is an inert element derived from the decay of uranium in the earth’s strata. Due to its stability, ease of measurement and significant difference in activity between groundwater and surface water, it has been widely used as a tracer in the study of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in recent years. In this study, the ²²²Rn activity of seawater was selected as the object of study, and the spatial and temporal characteristics of ²²²Rn were analyzed, and the SGD flux was estimated through a ²²²Rn mass balance model, based on two cruises of August-September, 2021 and December, 2021-January, 2022 from the northern Beibu Gulf. The results show a spatial and temporal variation of ²²²Rn distribution which was significantly affected by the terrestrial SGD process. The mean ²²²Rn activity decreased by about 40% in winter compared with that in summer. In summer, there show high ²²²Rn activity in bottom water especially from the northern part of the research area with a strong SGD process, but with low ²²²Rn activity in winter with weak SGD process. Based on the ²²²Rn mass balance model, the SGD fluxes of 4.16 cm·d^-1 in summer and 2.88 cm·d^-1 in winter were calculated from the research area, which shows significantly high SGD flux in summer dominant with nearshore SGD and low SGD flux in winter dominant with offshore SGD. Since the research area is surrounded by land and islands, the SGD processes were likely to be an important natural pathway for the terrestrial sources transporting to the nearshore waters.

Key words: submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), radon isotope (²²²Rn), mass balance model

CLC Number:

P641
P731.2

SI Xiangcheng, CHEN Xiao, CHEN Fajin, JIN Guangzhe, SHI Ziyang, XIE Xufeng, CAI Hua. A preliminary investigation on the spatial and temporal distribution of submarine groundwater discharge in the northern Beibu Gulf as indicated by ²²²Rn activities[J]. Journal of Marine Sciences, 2023, 41(2): 94-103.

Figures/Tables 8

Fig.1 The sampling sites in the northern Beibu Gulf

Fig.2 Distribution of 222Rn activity from bottom water in the northern Beibu Gulf in summer

Fig.3 Distribution of 222Rn activity from bottom water in the northern Beibu Gulf in winter

Fig.4 Distribution of 222Rn activity for S1 and S2 sections from the northern Beibu Gulf in summer

Fig.5 Distribution of 222Rn activity for S1 and S2 sections from the northern Beibu Gulf in winter

Fig.6 Distribution of SGD rate in the northern Beibu Gulf in summer

Fig.7 Distribution of SGD rate in the northern Beibu Gulf in winter

Tab.1 Comparison of SGD rates from this study with those from other coastal regions of China

研究区	SGD速率/(cm·d^-1)	参考文献
象山港	0.23~0.69	WU et al^[35]
海南岛西部	0.49~1.5	SU et al^[41]
莱州湾	6.64	ZHANG et al^[42]
吐露港	2.66~5.42	LUO et al^[43]
大亚湾	28~31	WANG et al^[5]
五缘湾	9~29	刘花台等^[44]
北部湾北部	2.88~4.16	本研究

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A preliminary investigation on the spatial and temporal distribution of submarine groundwater discharge in the northern Beibu Gulf as indicated by ²²²Rn activities

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