Current Magnitude and Mechanisms of Groundwater Discharge in the Arctic: Case Study from Alaska.

Autor: Dimova NT; Department of Geological Sciences, University of Alabama , Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487, United States., Paytan A, Kessler JD; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States., Sparrow KJ; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States., Garcia-Tigreros Kodovska F; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States., Lecher AL, Murray J, Tulaczyk SM
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Environmental science & technology [Environ Sci Technol] 2015 Oct 20; Vol. 49 (20), pp. 12036-43. Date of Electronic Publication: 2015 Oct 06.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b02215
Abstrakt: To better understand groundwater-surface water dynamics in high latitude areas, we conducted a field study at three sites in Alaska with varying permafrost coverage. The natural groundwater tracer ((222)Rn, radon) was used to evaluate groundwater discharge, and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) was used to examine subsurface mixing dynamics. Different controls govern groundwater discharge at these sites. In areas with sporadic permafrost (Kasitsna Bay), the major driver of submarine groundwater discharge is tidal pumping, due to the large tidal oscillations, whereas at Point Barrow, a site with continuous permafrost and small tidal amplitudes, fluxes are mostly affected by seasonal permafrost thawing. Extended areas of low resistivity in the subsurface alongshore combined with high radon in surface water suggests that groundwater-surface water interactions might enhance heat transport into deeper permafrost layers promoting permafrost thawing, thereby enhancing groundwater discharge.
Databáze: MEDLINE