IAPSO Commission on Groundwater-Seawater Interection
Report 2003

Although overlooked for many years, the direct discharge of groundwater into the coastal zone has now been recognised as an important process in many areas. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is widespread because it may occur anywhere that a coastal aquifer is hydraulically connected to the sea. While the magnitude of such discharge may be relatively minor in some areas, recent studies have indicated that groundwater may occasionally account for a significant fraction of the fresh water inflow. Increasingly, groundwater is being recognised as a potentially significant, but still poorly quantified, source of nutrients and other dissolved species to coastal waters and ecosystems. One of the outcomes of this interest in SGD has been the establishment of Commission on Groundwater-Seawater Interactions (CGSI) in 2001.

In compliance with the terms of reference, the following activities were undertaken:

Activities Completed by January 2004:

• A feature article was published in EOS on the two SGD method assessment intercomparisons, co-authored by several CGSI' members. Burnett, W.C., J. Chanton, J. Christoff, E.A. Kontar, S.Krupa, M. Lambert, W. Moore, D. O'Rourke, R. Paulsen, C. Smith, L. Smith and M. Taniguchi (2002). Assessing Methodologies for Measuring Groundwater Discharge to the Ocean. EOS, Volume 83, Number 11. 2002. 117, 122-123.
• CGSI participation in a Co-ordinated Research Programme (CRP) project on "Nuclear and Isotopic Techniques for the Characterisation of SGD in Coastal Zones" of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and UNESCO's International Hydrological Programme (IHP). Fieldwork in Donnalicata, Sicily, Italy, a known site of extensive groundwater discharge to the ocean., March 18-24, 2002.
• CGSI members organised and participated in a 2nd SGD assessment intercomparison experiment of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and IHP of UNESCO on Shelter Island, New York, USA, May 2002.
• CGSI members prepared a contribution to a synthesis chapter ("Dynamics of the Coastal Zone," James Syvitski, lead author) on SGD for the LOICZ volume and participated in the LOICZ Synthesis and Futures Meeting in Miami, 2002.
• July 2002: several members of CGSI travelled to Lingayen Gulf, Philippines, one of the prospective field sites for the future SGD study. This proved useful for a research proposal development.
• Jointly with IOC and IHP/UNESCO an SGD session was organised during the International Conference on Low-lying Coastal Areas ‚ Hydrology and Integrated Coastal Zone Management, 9-12 September 2002, Bremerhaven, Germany.
• Participated in a meeting held at the IAEA Headquarters in Vienna, Austria during December, 2002. Preliminary assessments of the results of the fieldwork in Sicily, Italy was presented by several CGSI members. Reports were prepared based on these results and papers are planned for submission during 2003.
• Jointly with SCOR WG 114 a new Gordon Research Conference on Permeable Sediments was created during 2002 to stimulate communication and research on aquatic permeable sediments. The conference was held on June 14-17, 2003 in Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, USA.
• Two symposia were organised and conducted during the XXIII General Assembly of IUGG (2003 IUGG Congress) in Sapporo, Japan: (1) "Groundwater Inputs to the Ocean" (JSP03) ‚ led by IAPSO, and (2) "Quantitative Approaches to Hyporheic Flows and Their Biogeochemical Consequences" (JSH-03) ‚ led by IAHS. More than 70 abstracts were received for these symposia.
• CGSI' members prepared a contribution to the International Open Science Conference on Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems Analysis. IOC/SCOR, Paris, 7-10 January, 2003.
• CGSI' members prepared a contribution to the 3rd World Water Forum, Kyoto, 16-23 March , 2003.
• Proposal development for the Asia Pacific Network (APN) to perform a direct measurement study of submarine groundwater discharge into Lingyagen Gulf, Philippines, including a significant training and capacity-building component. Unfortunately, the proposal was declined ‚ resubmission is being considered.
• Proposal submitted by CGSI' members to the Southeast Asia Regional Committee for START (SARCS) entitled "Contribution of Carbon and Nutrient Species into SE Asian Waters via Submarine Groundwater Discharge." This project was funded and will support measurements in the Gulf of Thailand.
• Development of research project proposal for the International Commission for the Scientific Exploration of the Mediterranean (CIESM) entitled "Submarine Groundwater Discharge and Its Influence on Hydrological Trends in the Mediterranean Sea".
• CGSI members organised and participated in a 3rd SGD assessment intercomparison experiment of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and IHP of UNESCO on Ubatuba Bay, Brazil, November 2003.
• Several CGSI members contributed to the special issue of Biogeochemistry on submarine groundwater discharge (Biogeochemistry volume 66, 2003): http://www.kluweronline.com/issn/0168-2563/contents Burnett, W.C., J.P. Chanton and E.A. Kontar (eds.), (2003), Submarine Groundwater Discharge. Kluwer Academic Publishers. The Netherlands. Biogeochemistry, 66, 202 p.
• The CGSI executive met on 5 December 2003 in Rome, at the National Research Council, during the symposium ëBasis of Civilisation ‚ Water' to discuss the situation concerning the Commission and its parent associations, the development of the new organisation and activities in planning for 2004 and beyond. One of the most important issues was the redefining of objectives to meet the current trends and necessities.

Planning 2004

As a direct product of CGSI activities in 2003, a proposal is now under review with the WOTRO Foundation to conduct research in Thailand and the Philippines that closely matches the terms of reference of the joint commission. A 2nd proposal to the UN Development Programme is in preparation and targeted SGD measurements in Mauritius. A summary of this proposed research and list of project objectives follows.

It is hypothesised that many water quality and associated problems effecting coastal environments around the world today are related to past and on-going contamination of terrestrial ground waters because those waters are now seeping out along many shorelines. For example, chronic inputs of fertilizers and sewage on land over several decades have resulted in higher groundwater nitrogen which, because of slow yet persistent discharge along the coast, eventually results in coastal marine eutrophication. Such inputs thus contribute to the increased occurrences of coastal hypoxia, nuisance algal blooms, and associated consequences. We propose to conduct a detailed assessment of the magnitude of SGD during wet and dry seasons in selected areas of Mauritius. The training component of our project will consist of study fellowships for Mauritian scientists and a regional workshop on the climatic effects, management implications, measurement techniques, and impact of the direct inflow of groundwater into the coastal zone.

Executive officers of CGSI:

President: Evgueni A. Kontar
P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology
Russian Academy of Sciences
Moscow 117218, Russia
e-mail: ekontar@ocean.fsu.edu

Vice-Presidents:

Pavel P. Povinec
International Atomic Energy Agency
Marine Environment Laboratory
4 Quai Antoine 1er
MC-98000, Monaco
E-mail: p.povinec@iaea.org

Giovanni Barrocu
Department of Land Engineering
University of Cagliari
Piazza d'Armi
I-09123 CAgliari
Italy
barrocu@unica.it

Michael Schlüter
Alfred-Wegener-Institut
D-27515 Bremerhaven
Germany
mschlueter@awi-bremerhaven.de

Treasurer:
Georges Weatherley
Department of Oceanography
Rm 429 OSB, West Call Street
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4320

Sub-group leaders:

Europe:
Georgia Destouni (Sweden) e-mail: georgia.destouni@natgeo.su.se

N. America:
Timothy Shaw (USA) e-mail: shaw@mail.chem.sc.edu

S. America:
Gerardo Perillo (Argentina) e-mail: perillo@criba.edu.ar

Africa:
Jean Basco Bazie (Niger) e-mail: jb-evnig@intnet.ne

Central Asia:
Abdulkhakim Salokhiddinov (Uzbekistan) e-mail: pepiwm@globalnet.uz

East and South-East Asia:
Rafiql Islam (Bangladesh) e-mail: rafiq@iczmpbd.org

Indian Sub-Continent:
Ramesh P. Singh (India) e-mail: ramesh@iitk.ac.in

Australasia:
Carolyn Oldham (Australia) e-mail: c.oldham@cwr.uwa.edu.au

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