1. Groundwater discharge to the western Antarctic coastal ocean.
- Author
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Null, Kimberly A., Corbett, D. Reide, Crenshaw, Jared, Peterson, Richard N., Peterson, Leigha E., and Lyons, W. Berry
- Subjects
MELTWATER ,GROUNDWATER ,RADIUM isotopes ,TERRITORIAL waters ,GLACIAL melting ,BIOLOGICAL productivity - Abstract
Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) measurements have been limited along the Antarctic coast, although groundwater discharge is becoming recognized as an important process in the Antarctic. Quantifying this meltwater pathway is important for hydrologic budgets, ice mass balances and solute delivery to the coastal ocean. Here, we estimate the combined discharge of subglacial and submarine groundwater to the Antarctic coastal ocean. SGD, including subglacial and submarine groundwater, is quantified along the WAP at the Marr Glacier terminus using the activities of naturally occurring radium isotopes (
223 Ra,224 Ra). Estimated SGD fluxes from a224 Ra mass balance ranged from (0.41 ± 0.14)×104 and (8.2 ± 2.3)×104 m³ d−1 . Using a salinity mass balance, we estimate SGD contributes up to 32% of the total freshwater to the coastal environment near Palmer Station. This study suggests that a large portion of the melting glacier may be infiltrating into the bedrock and being discharged to coastal waters along the WAP. Meltwater infiltrating as groundwater at glacier termini is an important solute delivery mechanism to the nearshore environment that can influence biological productivity. More importantly, quantifying this meltwater pathway may be worthy of attention when predicting future impacts of climate change on retreat of tidewater glaciers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2019
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