Investigation of submarine groundwater discharge into the Baltic Sea through varved glacial claysShow others and affiliations
2024 (English)In: Continental Shelf Research, ISSN 0278-4343, E-ISSN 1873-6955, Vol. 282, article id 105337Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is an important process responsible for transporting terrestrial dissolved chemical substances into the coastal ocean, thereby impacting the marine ecosystem. Despites its significance, there are few studies addressing SGD in the northern Baltic Sea. Here we investigate the potential occurrence of SGD in an area characterized by seafloor terraces formed in varved glacial clay located around Fif & aring;ng Island, Southern Stockholm Archipelago. We analyzed Rn-222 activity and porewater geochemistry in both marine and terrestrial sediment cores retrieved from Fif & aring;ng Island and its surrounding offshore areas. Results from 222Rn mass-balance calculations, water isotopes, salinity, chloride concentration, and dating (including 14C and helium-tritium dating) indicate that modern groundwater flows through varved glacial clay layers and fractured rocks on Fif & aring;ng Island and discharges into Fif & aring;ng Bay. Additionally, the offshore cores reveal a saline groundwater source that, dating of the dissolved inorganic carbon, appears systematically younger than the hosting clay varves dated using the Swedish clay varve chronology. Acoustic blanking in our acquired subbottom profiles may be related to this fluid migration. The occurrence of this saline groundwater seems to be independent from the distance to the submarine terraces. Collectively, our study confirms the occurrence of submarine groundwater in the varved glacial clay close to Fif & aring;ng Island and further offshore. Our findings help establish the significance of submarine groundwater discharge in influencing the past and present coastal environment in the Baltic Sea region.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2024. Vol. 282, article id 105337
Keywords [en]
Submarine groundwater discharge, Radon, Carbon-14 dating, Varved glacial clays, Water isotopes, Baltic sea
National Category
Geology
Research subject
Baltic and East European studies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-55124DOI: 10.1016/j.csr.2024.105337ISI: 001334667500001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85205801681OAI: oai:DiVA.org:sh-55124DiVA, id: diva2:1908588
Projects
Seafloor terraces and semi-circular depressions and their potential relation to Submarine Groundwater DischargeCyrosphere-driven submarine groundwater in the Arctic
Funder
Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, SSM2020-2555EU, Horizon 2020, 871149Swedish Research Council, 2021–049622024-10-282024-10-282025-10-07Bibliographically approved