Journal of Environmental Management 277 (2021) 111362

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Journal of Environmental Management

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman

Research article

Evaluation, effect and utilization of submarine groundwater discharge for

coastal population and ecosystem: A special emphasis on Indian coastline
D.S. Suresh Babu a, 1, Ashwini Khandekar b, 1, Chandrashekhar Bhagat c, Ashwin Singh c,
Vikrant Jain b, Mithila Verma d, Brijesh K. Bansal d, Manish Kumar b, *
a
National Centre for Earth Sciences Studies, Akkulam, Thiruvananthapuram, 695 031, India
b
Discipline of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, 382355, India
c
Discipline of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, 382355, India
d
Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), New Delhi, 110003, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is an important process driven by marine and terrestrial forces. Low
Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) tide affects SGD the most, therefore the ideal time to detect SGD is the low tide, especially during spring tide.
Tides and waves Techniques to detect and quantify SGD along with the understanding of the related aquifer characteristics is
Geophysical and geochemical techniques
discussed in this study. Scientific community across the world is realizing the importance of studying and
Stable and radioactive isotopes
Nutrient flux
mapping SGD because in the scenario of climate change, this part of the global hydrological cycle is an important
Coastal ecosystem process and is known to have a significant effect on the marine ecosystem due to nutrient and metal inputs
around the region of discharge. Therefore, understanding the processes governing SGD becomes very important.
In this review, various components and processes related to SGD (e.g. Submarine Groundwater Recharge, Deep
Porewater Upwelling, Recirculated Saline Groundwater Discharge), along with detailed discussion on impacts of
SGD for marine ecosystem is presented. Also, it highlights the future research direction and emphasis is put on
more research to be done keeping in mind the changing climate and its impacts on SGD.

1. Introduction ocean regardless of fluid composition or driving force’ (Burnett et al.,

Around 2.4 billion (~40%) people in the world dwell within 100 km
from the coast (The Ocean Conference, United Nations, 2017). High
population density, urbanization and land-use changes along the
coastlines has led to a serious water stress condition impacting the sta­
bility of the coastal areas (Syvitski et al., 2005). Over extraction of
groundwater in such areas can result in saltwater intrusion (SWI) which
in turn can damage the aquifer’s capacity of storing and transmitting
water (Kumar et al., 2010). SWI tends to usually occur when the
groundwater level is lower than the mean sea level (MSL) (Manivannan
and Elango, 2019). The overall availability of water in a particular area
depends on the precipitation received in the area as well as the
groundwater availability. Groundwater discharge can be either into the
inland waterbodies such as rivers or ponds or it can be into the sea or
ocean through permeable aquifers by a process known as Submarine
Groundwater Discharge (SGD). SGD is typically defined as ‘any and all
flow of water on continental margins from the seabed to the coastal
2003). SGD is a complementary phenomenon to SWI (Taniguchi et al.,
2002b), i.e. it generally occurs when the groundwater level of sur­
rounding aquifers is higher than the MSL and in presence of permeable
formations, which allows the discharge of water. In the scenario of
climate change where the hydrological cycle is altering, it becomes
important to study SGD because with the changing climate the amount
of discharge may vary and that may directly affect the quality and vol­
ume of groundwater that can be sustainably extracted because in the
areas where the SGD occurs, there lies a potential to sustainably tap the
groundwater due to relatively high groundwater head.
SGD is also one of the important pathways for the transport of rare
earth elements and nutrients to the sea, sustaining marine geochemical
cycle and ecosystem (Kim and Kim, 2014; Moosdorf et al., 2015; Amato
et al., 2016). Estimation of SGD is also needed to effectively understand
the impact of macronutrients on estuarine systems, the magnitude of
bacterially-driven processes, benthic exchanges and cycling of organic N
and P (Rengarajan and Sarma, 2015). However, if polluted groundwater

* Corresponding author. Discipline of Earth Sciences, Room No. 336A, Block 5 Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382 355, India.
E-mail addresses: manish.kumar@iitgn.ac.in, manish.env@gmail.com (M. Kumar).
1
Joint First Authors.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111362
Received 24 June 2020; Received in revised form 24 August 2020; Accepted 5 September 2020
Available online 17 September 2020
0301-4797/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
D.S.S. Babu et al.
enters the coastal sea it may also cause deterioration of the coastal
ecosystem. In light of above mentioned positive and negative impacts of
SGD, it becomes important to identify and quantify it.
Earlier, it was assumed that amount of groundwater discharged was
insignificant in terms of quantity and fluxes transferred through surface
runoff and riverine discharge (Burnett et al., 2003). Thus, not much
scientific importance was given to the understanding of SGD and related
processes, leading to significant knowledge gap. However, many studies
have been carried out in the last two decades to quantify water and
nutrient flux associated with SGD (Masciopinto and Liso, 2016). have
reported reduction in the amount of SGD in some local regions due to
rise in sea level. Also (Taylor et al., 2013), have reported increase in the
extreme events has led to high rainfall in short duration and decrease in
average amount of rainfall. During such condition of water inundation,
water flows as surface runoff and less water gets infiltrated resulting in
lesser groundwater recharge which may affect quantity of SGD.
So far, there are plenty research articles available based on local and
regional SGD studies but, there is lack of holistic articles tying-up all
these available studies to present an overall glimpse of SGD processes,
assessment techniques and its impact on the marine ecosystem at global
scale. Hence, the objective is to collate various local and regional study
and present a synoptic global view to discuss 1) The processes related to
SGD, 2) Various geophysical and geochemical approaches to identify
and quantify SGD, 3) The impacts of SGD on coastal ecosystem. The
paper also discusses the SGD perspectives with respect to Indian
coastline.
2. Background and a brief history about SGD
Submarine Groundwater Discharge had earlier been defined by
Church (1996) as ‘direct groundwater outflow across the ocean–land
interface into the ocean’. SGD is also defined as ‘the net groundwater
discharge to the ocean, which comes essentially from aquifer recharge’.
This definition removes bioirrigation, bioturbation and shear flow pro­
cesses (Moore, 2010). The phenomenon of SGD as a source of freshwater
was known many years back. Earlier examples of SGD identification and
use of the SGD water were found at Syria, Hawaiian Islands and in upper
Floridan aquifers under Port Royal Sound and Coastal Atlantic Ocean
where SGD was used to draw freshwater or to create favourable condi­
tions for fish by constructing walls for fish ponds from coral fragments
(Kohout, 1966; Kikuchi, 1976; DePratter and South, 1995; Taniguchi
et al., 2002; Moore, 2010).
2.1. Movement of groundwater towards the sea
The flow of groundwater in subsurface is mainly driven by differ­
ences in energy i.e. water flows from high to low energy head. The en­
ergy content of a unit volume of water is determined by the sum of
gravitational potential energy, pressure energy, and kinetic energy.
ρV 2
Energy per unit volume = ρgz + P +
2 Thus, RSGD = RSGD w + RSGD t + RSGD c (Taniguchi et al., 2002)
where ρ is fluid density, g is gravitational acceleration, z is the elevation
of the measuring point, P is fluid pressure at the measurement point, and
V is the fluid average velocity (Mulligan and Charette, 2009a).
The terrestrial factor that mainly drives SGD is the hydraulic head
(sum of all energies). When the groundwater flows towards the sea, it
comes in contact with the infiltrated salty water. When the fresh
groundwater comes in contact with the salty groundwater, it rises above
it due to density difference (Moore, 2010). The estimation of position of
the interface between freshwater and seawater in the coastal aquifers is
shown by Ghyben-Herzberg relationship.
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Journal of Environmental Management 277 (2021) 111362
2.2. Ghyben-Herzberg’s relation
There was an attempt to understand the behaviour of the freshwater
when mixing with seawater in coastal aquifers. Using Ghyben-Herz­
berg’s relation, one can estimate the position of the saltwater-freshwater
interface. It is used assuming that there is only horizontal flow in the
freshwater region and no flow within the saltwater region. This means
that the pressures at the adjacent points on both sides along the interface
are equal. The equation used for calculation is as follows:
ρf
z= *h
ρs − ρf
Where z is the thickness of freshwater below sea level, h is the thickness
of seawater below sea level.
ρf is the density of freshwater, ρs is the density of saltwater.
At 20 ◦ C, the density of freshwater is 1000 kg/m3, the density of
seawater is 1025 kg/m3
The equation can be simplified into
z = 40h.
This states that the depth of the interface is 40 times the height of the
water table with respect to mean sea level (Vacher, 1988; Bokuniewicz
and Pavlik, 1990). Although the Ghyben Herzberg equation is based on
specific assumptions, it can still be used to know the approximate depth
of freshwater below the land (Taniguchi et al., 2006). A model studying
sharp interface was proposed by (Strack, 1976). The sharp interface
assumes that the saltwater remains static. As a result, it overestimates
the critical pumping rates that ensure freshwater supply. A modification
in this equation proposed by (Pool and Carrera, 2011) which was to
introduce a correction factor that depends only upon transverse dis­
persivity and the thickness of aquifer. Ɛ* = Ɛ[1- (αT/b’)1/6] where αT is
transverse dispersivity and b’ is aquifer thickness. This factor can be
used to measure critical pumping rate as well as to correct the
Ghyben-Herzberg estimate of interface depth.
3. Components of SGD
The groundwater flow occurs down a gradient and, in the places
where the coastal aquifers are connected to the sea, SGD occurs (Chen,
2005; Zhang and Mandal, 2012; Zhang et al., 2017; Misra et al., 2020).
SGD consists of both; Freshwater discharge and Recirculated seawater
discharge (Burnett et al., 2003; Rengarajan and Sarma, 2015).
SGD (DSGWD) consist of net groundwater discharge (Dn), discharge
due to oscillating flow by tides (Dt) and circulations due to waves (Dw).
It is shown as:
DSGW = Dn + Dw + Dt (Li et al., 1999).
The SGD rate is defined as SGD = SFGD + RSGD.
Where SFGD is Submarine Fresh Groundwater Discharge and RSGD
is Recirculated Saline Water Discharge. The RSGD consists of Recircu­
lated saline water due to the effects of tides, waves, and density or
thermal convection.
Recirculated seawater component is driven by waves, tides, density
difference and osmotic pressure while the factors affecting it are wind
forces, type of tide and period.
4. Physical driving forces of SGD
Various processes affecting SGD are Tidal pumping, Wave setup,
Elevation differences, etc. (as shown in Fig. 1). The waves generate
pressure gradients and the water enters the sediment layer towards the
ripple crest and pore water exchange occurs (Moore, 2010). Submarine
Groundwater Recharge (SGR) occurs due to tidal and wave actions,
sea-level fluctuations, and density differences. This mostly consists of
saline water that is recirculated in the pore spaces. Apart from these,
there are other processes that are endogenic in nature like osmotic
D.S.S. Babu et al.
Fig. 1. Conceptual depiction of submarine groundwater discharge along with the sampling techniques generally applied for SGD studies.
pressure, thermal gradients and inverted density stratification (Burnett
et al., 2003). The thermal gradients develop as the seawater is cooler and
the water in contact with the earth’s surface is warmer. The warm water
that is carried in pore spaces rises and its place is taken by the inflow of
seawater. This is again warmed and creates a circulation (Wilson, 2005).
Other terms associated with SGD are Freshwater – Saltwater Interface
(FSI), Deep Porewater Upwelling (DPU) and Shallow and Deep Salinity
Transition Zones (STZs) (Taniguchi, 2002) (Moore, 2010), (Kroeger and
Charette, 2008), (Bratton, 2010). RSGD includes discharge occurring
due to waves, tides and convection processes.
The main processes causing temporal fluctuations are i) long term or
seasonal changes in the inland hydraulic head, ii) diurnal changes in the
pressure gradients, iii) short term pressure gradients induced by waves
(Nielsen, 1990; Schubert et al., 2014). Deep pore water upwelling is the
advection from deeper permeable sediments and rocks and is driven by
buoyancy and pressure gradients. When there is a large amount of fresh
water in the aquifers of the continental shelf, it provides potential sites
for the occurrence of deep pore water upwelling by leaks and cracks in
the confining layers (Moore, 2010). Recycling of the water has been
referred to as ventilation or transportation. These terms are used for the
processes when they occur within 1 m of the seafloor (Conley and
Inman, 1994; Schubert et al., 2014). The agitation of porewater by short
waves is referred to as wave stirring or wave pumping. Here, the
agitation is slow and it may not contribute to producing any net flow. In
the situation where the density of seawater increases than that of
porewater, the porewater can come out and be replaced by the denser
seawater by gravitational convection without net discharge. This is
known as Floating or Salt fingering (Thorstenson and Mackenzie, 1974,
Gosink et al., 1990). When there is an incessant replacement of pore­
water due to hydraulic gradients on the shore and pressure gradients in
the coastal ocean, the process is called flushing. Gradient difference may
be due to tidal elevations in narrow reefs or Barrier islands and wave
action or tidal pumping (Nielsen, 1990; Li et al., 1999; Burnett et al.,
2003). When the sediments are saturated, which is in the submerged
materials, groundwater is equal to the porewater. The wave action also
has a significant effect on the flow of SGD. A numerical model was used
by (Xin et al., 2014) to simulate the flow and salt transport in the
groundwater aquifer under varying wave conditions. It was observed
that the storm caused sudden intensification of the seawater influx into
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the aquifer but the returning of this water as part of increased SGD was
gradual. The change in the storage with time was controlled by the net
flux (influx and outflux) which is dependent on wave action. The efflux
was dependent on the current storage and aquifer conditions which was
result of past wave conditions whereas the influx was mainly driven by
present wave conditions.
5. Influences of tides on SGD
The majority of the studies have been showing the interrelationship
of tides with different methods like isotopes, seepage meters, etc. to
detect SGD. The reason for it is that during low tides, when the water is
away from the land, the processes mentioned above are more dominant
in the intertidal zones. Some researches related to tides and SGD
detection or measurement are discussed here. A study carried out by
Holliday et al. (2007) at intertidal zone at Elim beach, Australia to
investigate discharging fresh groundwater from the springs revealed
that with the increase in tide, the discharge of freshwater from the spring
decreased. However, during the entire cycle, the flow remained positive.
Also, with the rising tide, a rise in the hydraulic head was observed. The
fluctuation in head difference and discharge in the confined aquifer was
result of tidal forcing at the seaward limit of the aquitard (Greskowiak,
2014). in a study using SEAWAT model observed many hydrogeological
conditions where upper saline plume (upper saline recirculation cell) in
the tide affected SGD zones becomes unstable and salt fingering occurs.
It was observed that salt fingering would change the SGD pattern as
compared to a condition with stable flow. A study at tidal flat at
Omaehama, Japan by (Nakada et al., 2011) using SEAWAT model
showed occurrence of three circulations in unconfined coastal aquifer
associated with SGD and tidal force along the tidal flat and sloping beach
surface: a small upper-tide induced seawater circulation, deeper circu­
lation and Large tidal flat induced circulation. These results were vali­
dated qualitatively by results of time series resistivity measurements.
Thus, the SGD consisted of mixture of aquifer derived freshwater and
locally recycled seawater.
A study was carried out by (Taniguchi, 2002) near the shore of Fukae
in the north of Osaka Bay, Japan using continuous heat type automated
seepage meter which was set up 5 m offshore from the coastline. It was
based on using the effects of heat convection that occurs due to the flow
D.S.S. Babu et al.
of water. The results show that the rate of SGD increases from neap tide
to spring tide whereas it decreases moving towards neap tide from
spring tide. The only process associated with the semi-monthly period is
neap-spring tides due to which there is recirculation of seawater
happening due to tidally driven oscillating flow. Also, there is a large
variation in the amplitude of SGD occurring during neap-spring tide
than the regular diurnal tidal variation. So, the major factor that controls
the SGD rate is recirculated water due to neap-spring tidal pumping
oscillation rather than terrestrial groundwater discharge or precipita­
tion. Another study was carried out by (Nielsen, 1990; Povinec et al.,
2008) at Ubatuba coast Flamengo Bay using 222Radon activity, pie­
zometers (multi-level piezometer transects) and automated seepage
meters. The 222 Rn concentration increases a bit with a decrease in sea
level. The results showed a negative correlation between SGD and tidal
stages as variations in hydraulic gradients are caused by tidal effects.
In a study by (Taniguchi et al., 2006) in the Yatsushiro Sea in Kyushu
island Japan, the relationship between SGD and Saltwater-freshwater
interface was carried out. using heat type automated seepage meters.
The correlation between SGD, tides conductivity and temperature
showed that SGD was maximum when sea level was lowest. Larger
conductivity of SGD was during spring tide; caused more due to RSGD
component of SGD as more recirculated seawater discharge is caused by
the higher amplitude of tides. The study also states that the hydraulic
gradient between land and the sea is chiefly determined by the change in
sea level. Similar observation pertaining to role of tides and waves as
drivers of SGD was supported in a study by de Sieyes et al. (2011) at
Stinson beach, California using short lived Ra isotope activity. The re­
sults showed that with the higher tidal range, SGD associated Ra activity
showed a positive correlation whereas significant but opposite effect of
Ra was with respect to waves was observed. It was observed that tidal
range affects the magnitude of the groundwater from beach aquifer.
Thus, waves and tides both are associated with driving SGD as well as
cross-shore mixing.
For determining SGD at a single location, naturally occurring
radioactive isotopes of Radon and stable isotopes of water have been
used as a tool. The study was carried out at a specific submarine source
in a karst environment in Cabbe, France. It was observed that the dis­
charging water had a low temperature than the seawater which showed
the lower temperatures in cave during low tides. High tides showed high
salinity and decreased SGD rates. The signature of stable isotopes
showed a positive relationship with tides. The lighter isotope signatures
showed that in low tide, the groundwater discharge increases. An in­
verse correlation was seen between Radon and water depth (Schubert
et al., 2014). Based on the hydrogeological and hydrochemical evi­
dences, it was also reported that tectonic disturbances form causative
factors to develop conduits for SGD in coastal aquifers (Suresh Babu
et al., 2009).
Other studies supporting these facts are by Li et al. (1999) who with
the help of the theoretical model revealed that the groundwater circu­
lation and oscillations generated by waves and tides account for 96% of
SGD compared with 4% of net groundwater discharge. It can be inferred
from other studies that the nearshore systems with significant tides
create shallow recirculation cells. These upon constant flushing result in
displacement and more towards deep water of low freshwater seepage
by several meters. (Nielsen, 1990) carried out a study at Barrenjoey
beach, north of Sydney, Australia. The level of the water table near the
sloping beach was measured on site and theoretical calculations were
made. The measurements showed an elevation of 0.29 m above MSL in
inland average water for the tidal amplitude of 0.516 m. This was due to
the formation of seepage face around low tide, asymmetry of boundary
condition at sloping beach face. Discharge of groundwater into the sea
was detected along Gongchenpo beach, Jeju island by (Lee et al., 2016)
using thermal signals observed by Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It
was observed that the maximum temperature anomalies indicating SGD
were observed during low tide and it increased with the outgoing tide,
rising tide, and high tide.
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Journal of Environmental Management 277 (2021) 111362
Thus, from the above-mentioned studies, it can be inferred that the
rate of SGD is highest during low tide and during spring tides as hy­
draulic gradient (difference between groundwater level and mean sea
level divided by length from seashore to observation well) is maximum
at the time of low or spring tide. However, the timing for maximum
seepage with respect to the tidal stage varies upon the hydrologic setup
of different locations (Burnett et al., 2006).
6. Identification of SGD through various techniques
The studies focusing on SGD have been carried out in different parts
of the world using various techniques (Fig. 2) Various geophysical and
geochemical techniques are used to identify and measure SGD. Seepage
meters are commonly used in studies to quantify SGD. The remote
sensing approach has been helpful for the identification of SGD zones
based on the study of temperature anomalies. DSi can been used as a
tracer for identification and quantification of SGD over smaller temporal
and spatial scale along with Ra and Rn studies (Oehler et al., 2019a,b).
Some widely used techniques have been mentioned below.
6.1. Remote sensing
Thermal Infrared (TIR) satellite data has been used as a tool for
identification and estimation or quantification of non-point diffuse SGD.
MODIS describes the importance of satellite-based measurements to
study the global distribution and variability of Sea Surface Temperature
(SST) (Brown et al., 1999). developed an algorithm which is a segment
of a bigger MODIS instrument group. This was for reconnaissance to
develop precise methodology to evaluate the ocean SST, produce a map
of SST fields and validate their characteristics with real data, to deter­
mine the spatial and temporal variation for these fields and come up
with the simple techniques or model which would help to incorporate
these fields for particular social and scientific problems such as seepage
of water in to the sea (SGD), global warming etc. It was based on using
mid and far thermal infrared bands to estimate SST.
Cloud screening was implied which was specifically based on two
tactics; first, using cloud screening product (3660) and second, cloud
indicator derived during the SST recoupment. The resolution of MODIS
data varied from 10 to 200 Km. The distributed Sea Surface Temperature
products contained lat-long, time and quality evaluation flags. In this
algorithm, split or dual window method was used to correct the satellite
TIR (Thermal Infrared) radiances. Using numerical model has an
advantage of obtaining huge data base measurement over prolonged
time with wide range of atmospheric conditions such as surface tem­
perature, geometry of viewing etc.
Airborne TIR sensors helps in differentiating various inputs of water
by a change in SST. The observations can be cross-checked by carrying
out Rn or Ra isotope studies or by other approaches (Tamborski et al.,
2015). While using a TIR approach to detect SGD, the size, tone, colour,
shape serve as direct indicators to identify SGD. The temperature of the
groundwater is the annual average of the ambient air temperature. In
summer, the occurrence of SGD might lower the SST of the area around
discharge whereas in winter, the open water of the sea would be colder
and the water that gets discharged as SGD might be warmer. It has been
known that the coastal water in the temperate zones is very cold; just
above the freezing point. During this time, the discharging groundwater
has a higher temperature. Thus, SGD can be well detected by TIR in this
season due to changes in the radiations because of variations in tem­
perature, salinity, and turbidity (Mukherjee, 2015). SST based studies to
detect SGD have been done using Landsat images (Farzin et al., 2017;
Hennig et al., 2015) and by using airborne TIR using unmanned aerial
vehicles or aerial TIR to differentiate the inputs of water masses with
differing SST (Johnson et al., 2008; Kelly et al., 2013; Tamborski et al.,
2015).
D.S.S. Babu et al.
Fig. 2. The map represents the locations where SGD investigations have been carried out alongwith the techniques used.
6.2. Isotopes
6.2.1. Radium isotopes
The most commonly used isotopes of Radium in the study of SGD are
226
Ra which is obtained from the decay of 238U; and 228Ra which is
obtained from the decay of 232Th. The half-lives of these are 1599 years
and 5.76 years respectively. The other two isotopes of Radium having
short half-lives are 223Ra and 224Ra. Ra2+ ions are strongly absorbed on
to the oxyhydroxides of Mn. When the freshwater from the river gets
mixed with seawater, it desorbs from the suspended sediments while the
parent Thorium is retained and as a result, the activity of 226Ra and
228
Ra in solution in water remains increasing (Faure and Mensing,
2005). Groundwater shows enrichment in Ra as compared to surface
water (Burnett et al., 2006). Saline groundwater is more enriched with
Ra as compared to fresh groundwater. Ra is adsorbed on the sediment
surface in freshwater (where there is low ionic strength) but is released
due to ion exchange resulting upon contact with saline water (Yuan
et al., 2014; Bejannin et al., 2017). A study carried out to detect SGD in
Jeju island in South Korea revealed the values of 226Ra flux in fresh
groundwater to be 0.03 (109 Bq/yr) and 49 (109 Bq/yr) in recirculated
seawater in eastern coast of Jeju whereas, it was 0.3 (109 Bq/yr) for fresh
groundwater in western Jeju and value obtained for recirculated
seawater was 32 (109 Bq/yr); Also, the value of 222Rn was found high in
freshwater and salty groundwater as compared to seawater; thus indi­
cating SGD (Kim, 2003).
The study conducted by (Charette et al., 2013) in Caloosahatchee
river estuary showed that the 226 Ra was high in groundwater due to the
local deposits of phosphorites, which also contains Uranium. The
228
Ra/226Ra also had a relatively low value of 0.20. More enrichment of
228
Ra in brackish groundwater was observed than the groundwater with
low salinity. The mass balance approach using Ra isotopes has also been
an effective way of identifying SGD (Yuan et al., 2014). carried out study
along Jiaozhou bay using isotopes of Ra (224Ra and 226Ra) to estimate
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Journal of Environmental Management 277 (2021) 111362
SGD. Ra loss and the source were calculated in Jiazhou Bay except for
SGD and an imbalance in the Ra fluxes was found, indicating that
component being SGD. Mass balance was calculated using equation;
Fout + Fdecay = Fin + Friver + Fdiffuse + Fs-desorb + Fww + FSGD
Where the sources of Ra were from river (Friver), diffusion (Fdiffuse),
tide input (Fin), wastewater (Fww) and desorption (Fs-desorb) from resus­
pended particles; whereas losses were due to radioactive decay (Fdecay)
and ebb tide (Fout). Mass balance using Ra was also used by (Charette,
2007) in Pamet river estuary, Massachusetts and it was found out that
the ratio of Ra derived SGD increased during dry periods. Mass balance
approach using Radium along with the study of the nutrient influx has
also been used by (Rengarajan and Sarma, 2015) in Godavari estuarine
system and SGD was identified as an important source for the transport
of nutrients. Various other studies have also used short-lived Ra isotopes
in the study of SGD (Burnett et al., 2008; Schubert et al., 2014; Yuan
et al., 2014; Chawla et al., 2014). Some studies across various coastal
areas of the world and the value of Ra obtained are mentioned in
Table 1.
6.2.2. Radon isotope
222
Rn is derived from radioactive decay of Thorium in sediments and
has a half-life of 3.83 days. Availability of 222Rn in groundwater is very
high; sometimes ~1000 times as compared to surface water and ~2 to 4
times higher than seawater, is non-reactive in nature thus making it an
excellent tracer for identifying SGD (Charette et al., 2008; Jacob et al.,
2009). Radon is measured in-situ by Radon-in-air analyser (RAD7,
Durridge Corp) by a constant water supply at the site. 222Rn in seawater
is due to the radioactive decay of 226Ra present in sediments as well as
water. A study carried out at Vizhinjam coast and Thiruvananthapuram;
India showed much spatial variation in groundwater 222Rn activities
while not much variation was observed in coastal water (Jacob et al.,
2009). Radon mass balance approach calculated in coastal water
revealed a significant contribution of SGD in the coastal water. Other
D.S.S. Babu et al. Journal of Environmental Management 277 (2021) 111362

Table 1 Lagoon, Florida measuring 222Rn in pore water samples and using con­
Studies showing variation in values of226Ra and228Ra in various coastal areas. ceptual model quantified variation in seepage velocities along with
Study area 226
Ra 228
Ra 228
Ra/226Ra Authors spatial variation in the subterranean estuary. It was inferred that 222Rn
(dpm/ (dpm/ (dpm/100 L) (Year) distribution within the estuary was controlled by 226Ra (sediment-­
100 L) 100 L) bound) produced locally and fresh groundwater inputs. The conceptual
Ganga-Brahmaputra 156 295 1.9 (Moore, model considered transport of 222Rn along the groundwater-sea water
river, Bangladesh 1997) (Gat, zone as one dimensional, in the vertical direction. The advantage of this
2010) model over mass balance one is that it incorporates the variability of
Godavari estuarine system, Bay of Bengal, India Rengarajan
• Feb 2011 36.15 and Sarma
production of 226Ra (sediment-bound) and shows a component of fresh
• Oct 2011 42.32 (2015) groundwater discharge rather than total SGD. Linear to an exponential
• Nov 2011 41.94 decrease in fresh groundwater inputs were seen 20–25 m offshore
• Spring in La Palme 390 366 Bejannin (Smith et al., 2008). A study carried out by (Krishan et al., 2015) showed
lagoon et al. (2017)
an important relationship between EC and 222Rn concentration to
• Font Estramar 68 139
spring identify the type of SGD. The study revealed the variation of EC and
222
• Font Dame spring 49 74 Rn concentration corresponds to fresh SGD into the coastal water.
• Spring in Calanque 252 105 Increase in 222Rn concentration and decrease in EC corresponds to
of Port Miou freshwater SGD, increase in 222Rn concentration and increase in EC
(Highest values
found along with
corresponds to Saline SGD, decrease in 222Rn concentration and
springs in French decrease in EC represents Fresh Surface water, and Decrease in 222Rn
Mediterranean concentration and increase in EC represents Seawater. Rn value of the
coastline) SGD decreases as the groundwater gradually gets mixed in the sea. This
Pamet River estuary, USA Charette
observation from many studies has been shown in the graphical form in
• Marsh groundwater ~10–15 (2007)
• Aquifer derived 1–2 Fig. 3. The plot includes the observations from (Adyasari et al., 2019;
groundwater Duque et al., 2019; Sugimoto et al., 2017; Tamborski et al., 2015;
Caloosahatchee river estuary, USA Charette Schubert et al., 2014; Povinec et al., 2008; Smith et al., 2008; Hwang
• Brackish 0.15 et al. (2013) et al., 2005).
groundwater
• Low salinity 0.07
groundwater 6.2.3. Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen
Santa Barbara, USA Swarzenski
• Groundwater well 190–650 400–3640 and Izbicki 6.2.3.1. δD and δ18O. The stable isotope species of Hydrogen and Ox­
• Sea water 55–130 23–210 (2009)
ygen of water molecules are widely used as a natural tracer technique (as
shown in Table 2) The isotopes of Hydrogen measured in this method are
1
studies using 222Rn mass balance approach along with other methods H and 2H (also denoted as D for Deuterium) and that of Oxygen are (16O
were carried out at Ubatuba, Brazil (Burnett et al., 2008; Swarzenski and and 18O). The deviation in the values of Hydrogen and Oxygen isotopes
Izbicki, 2009; Rocha et al., 2016). A study carried out at Indian River from the standard value is denoted by δ,

Fig. 3. (a): Plot showing relationship of Radon vs. salinity based on values from various studies carried out in diferent countries, b) is the same plot showing Rn
values up to 5000Bq/m3. It is seen that as the salinity increases, 222Rn value decreases. (The mean value of the data given is considered wherever available. In case
where range was available, average of the two points was considered).

6
D.S.S. Babu et al. Journal of Environmental Management 277 (2021) 111362

Table 2
Table shows values of δD and δ18O observed in different study areas.
Study area & season/ Value of δD Value of Instrument used Other parameters Findings Reference
type of water (‰) δ18O (‰) studied
222
Submarine spring − 35.1 (gw) − 4.7 (gw) IRMS delta plus XL Thermo Rn, The water discharged during low tide showed (Schubert
223,224,226,228
Cabbe, NW 10.4 1.22 Finnigan Ra, lighter signatures indicating flow of et al., 20 14)
Mediterranean Sea (offshore (offshore SST, groundwater into the sea
seawater) seawater)
222
Ria Formosa, 2.5 to 8.5 in 0.96 to Micromass isoprime dual Rn Rocha et al.
Portugal porewater − 0.20 in inlet coupled to an (2016)
porewater Aquaprep system,
LGR-Liquid water isotope
analyser, DT 100,
Laser CRDS- Picarro water
isotope analyser L-1120i
South eastern Sicily − 30 to 5 − 5.6 to 1.0 δ18O: CO2–H2O Various cations and Based on isotope signatures and chemical Schiavo
Submarine springs equilibration method anions, CTD, HCO3 composition of coastal groundwater it was et al. (2009)
(all seasons) δD: H2O–Zn reduction inferred that there is presence of surficial
method aquifer and inland groundwater and beach
showed presence of deep limestone aquifer.
Biscayne Bay, SE − 16.57 − 3.28 Europa Geo 20-20 mass Sr+2/Ca+2 Isotope signatures helped in separating canal Stalker et al.
Florida − 18.20 − 3.52 spectrometer with an auto water from groundwater and precipitation (2009)
Wet season − 5.31 − 0.47 sampler equilibration unit water as freshwater source into the coastal
Precipitation − 4.49 − 1.83 (Europa WES) water.
Groundwater − 9.8 − 2.18
Canal water − 4.88 − 0.40
Dry season
Precipitation
Groundwater
Canal water
Ubatuba, Brazil − 20 to − 3.7 to − 3.5 Tritium: 3He in-growth Radon, Better understanding of the groundwater Povinec
Rain sample − 17.5 − 3.9 to method Radium, Tritium seawater interaction was available. The SGD et al. (2008)
Groundwater wells − 18.3 to − 3.17 18O: CO2–H2O was found to be majorly composed of
and springs − 11.2 − 3.61 to equilibration procedure recirculated seawater or coastal groundwater
River water − 15.6 to − 2.92
(Picinguaba bay) − 9.3 0.02 to 0.53
Seawater 1.0 to 4.6 − 3.20 to 0.5
Submarine springs − 15 to 4.5
Pingtung Plain coast, − 0.5 to 0.3 δ18O: SIRA-10 triple 87
Sr/86Sr, Deep SGD was composed of recirculated sea Lin et al.
SW Taiwan − 0.2 to 0.2 collector mass spectrometer Ba water along with admixture of fresh (2010)
Seawater groundwater in canyon.
Pore water
Chandipur, India − 48 to 2.8 − 5.86 to Oxygen- Continuous flow Nutrients Identification of seasonality and tidal cycles, Debnath
Porewater 1.17 IRMS as well as interactions with other surface et al. (2019)
Porewater 40 m − 4 Hydrogen- Dual inlet IRMS water bodies near the study area.
Porewater 40–60 m <-2 to − 4 (GV Instruments, Isoprime)
Porewater beyond >-2
60 m − 2.70 to
Pre monsoon − 2.55
Groundwater 1.92
Seawater − 2.89 to
Seepage SGD water 1.77
Post monsoon − 4.06 to
Groundwater − 3.18
Seawater − 0.09
Seepage SGD water − 4.51 to
− 2.80
Mangueira lagoon, 1.7 0.7 Methane,222Radon The canals contributed almost 70% of Santos et al.
Brazil − 23.2 − 4.4 time-series and Radium groundwater to the lagoon and dredging of (2008)
Lagoon water irrigation canal alters the groundwater fluxes
Groundwater

6.3. Seepage meters

Where δ (‰) = [(R sample)/ (R standard) – 1] *1000
where R denotes ratio of heavy isotopes to light isotopes (Gat, 2010).
A compilation of studies from eight different locations has been
shown in figures, Figs. 4 and 5 and Table 2. It can be inferred that the
groundwater shows depleted values ranging from ~-2.5‰ to ~ -6.5‰
(δ18O) whereas the Seawater has the values ~0‰. However, these
values vary with regions. Thus, isotope techniques have a wider appli­
cation as they provide more accurate results, can be used as tracers as
well as in quantification of each component of SGD.
The automated seepage meters use heat pulse method, continuous
heat flow measurements, ultrasonic measurements, and electromagnetic
measurements to determine SGD. Seepage meters are widely used for
determining the flow of SGD. Manual seepage meter has a drum above,
the open end of which is placed into the sediment. On top of it, there is a
valve which allows the flow of water. A plastic bag with some known
volume of water is placed above the valve so that the inflow or outflow
of water from the sediment can be measured (Mulligan and Charette,
2009). A “continuous heat-type” automated seepage meter is based upon
the effects of heat convection which occurs due to water currents. It
measures the temperature gradient due to constant heat generated in the

7
D.S.S. Babu et al. Journal of Environmental Management 277 (2021) 111362

Fig. 4. The map represents the locations where studies indicating SGD have been carried out using stable isotopes of water. δ18O and δD values are mentioned in
respective boxes. The plot inset represents δ18O values of different types of water across the world. It can be seen that the pore water values around zero are indicative
of submarine groundwater discharge. (The mean value of the data given is considered. In case where range was available, average of those two points
was considered).

Fig. 5. Plot of δ18O vs. δD of water samples from

different studies across the globe. The shaded circle
shows the positive values indicative of seawater or
saline SGD whereas the points in blue circles show
depleted values representing groundwater. (The
mean value of the data given is considered. In case
where range was available, average of those two
points was considered). (For interpretation of the
references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is
referred to the Web version of this article.)

column between sensors placed upstream and downstream. The differ­
ence in temperature is highest when no water flows whereas it decreases
as water starts to flow (Taniguchi and Iwakawa, 2001). Seepage meters
have been helpful in various studies for SGD and have been studies by
(Taniguchi et al., 2005, 2006; Bokuniewicz and Pavlik, 1990; Bugna
et al., 1996; Mulligan and Charette, 2009; Rocha et al., 2016; Michael
et al., 2005; Tamborski et al., 2015; Donis et al., 2017; Kotwicki et al.,
2014; Burnett et al., 2008). While seepage meters show exact flux of the
water flow, the disadvantage is that it gives the values of a small area at
the particular site where it is installed so in order to calculate SGD flow
in a large area, many seepage meters need to be installed and their
installation becomes difficult in a turbulent environment. Some studies
carried out using seepage meters are mentioned below in Table 3.

8
D.S.S. Babu et al. Journal of Environmental Management 277 (2021) 111362

Table 3
Compilation of studies using seepage meters to identify SGD across various countries.
Sr Study area Type of seepage meter Other techniques used Use of seepage meter for study and related Reference
no. findings

1 Shore of Fukae, Japan
2 Suruga bay, Japan
3 Yatsushiro sea, Japan
4 Jeju island, South Korea
5 Franklin and Wakulla,
SW Tallahassee, Florida,
USA
6 Waquoit Bay,
Massachusetts, USA
7 Long island, NY, USA
8 Santa Barbara,
California, USA
9 Hel Bight, Poland
10 Puck Bay, Baltic sea
11 Ria Formosa, Portugal
12 Ubatuba, Brazil
13 Flamengo Bay,
Picinguaba Bay, Brazil
Continuous heat type Automated Fast Fourier Transfer (FFT)
seepage meters
Automated seepage meter CTD, EC
Automated seepage meter Resistivity,
CTD
228
Manual Seepage meter (Lee 1977) Ra and226Ra,222Rn, δ18O,
Nutrients
Manual Seepage meter (Lee 1977) Methane and nutrient
production,222Rn
Conventional Seepage meter Salinity, Modelling, tracer test
222
Manual seepage meter (Lee 1977) Rn, TIR
223
Electromagnetic seepage meters Ra,224Ra,228Ra
and226Ra,222Rn, Electrical
Resistivity
Combining benthic chambers with Nutrients, DO, Salinity, Fe2+,
seepage meters Mn2+, CH4,
Manual Seepage meter (Lee 1977) Sediment analysis for
meiofaunal communities,
222
Rn
228
Dye dilution automated seepage Ra and226Ra,222Rn,
meters
3
Manual seepage meters, Dye dilution H,223Ra,224Ra,228Ra
and continuous- heat type and226Ra,222Rn, δ18O and δH
automated seepage meters
Determining semi- monthly and diurnal SGD Taniguchi
fluctuations due to recirculated sea water. (2002)
Calculating SGD rates, inference about change Taniguchi et al.
in SGD rates with changing tides. (2005)
Ratio of SFGD to SGD was found; process of SGD Taniguchi et al.
varied between nearshore and offshore area. (2006)
Almost all SGD consisted of Recirculated sea Kim (2003)
water in easter coast while western coast had
20% fresh groundwater contribution.
Used as correlating factor for identifying Bugna et al.
methane as an indicator of SGD. (1996)
Revealed seasonal variation of groundwater Michael et al.
flux and variation in salinity. (2005)
Understanding about specific shorelines not Tamborski et al.
showing TIR anomalies; Site with no TIR (2015)
anomaly showed circulated seawater SGD.
Recorded recharge and discharge rates Swarzenski and
occurring with tidal events. Izbicki (2009)
Investigating fluxes and sediment processes (Donis et al.,
without blocking SGD. 2017),
Providing evidence about SGD having effect on Kotwicki et al.
meiofauna at study area. (2014)
Used to measure Rn and stable isotope vaiaions Rocha et al.
of H and O with Tidal fluxes. (2016)
Relating discharge by Ra measurement with Burnett et al.
seepage meter flux. (2008)
Understanding sea level changes with tides; Povinec et al.
understanding coorelation of Rn and SGD flux (2008)
measured by seepage meters with tidal cycle.

6.4. Resistivity method (Swarzenski and Izbicki, 2009).

The electrical conductivity of water is affected by its salinity. Using

Electrical Resistivity method, one can clearly differentiate between
saltwater and freshwater as there is a sharp difference between their
conductivities. Low electrical resistivity (high conductivity) implies
relatively salty water and vice versa. Electrical Resistivity study is car­
ried out using various methods. Continuous Resistivity Profiling (CRP) is
carried out inside the sea with the help of a boat. CRP had been carried
out in Waquoit Bay, MA to delineate the freshwater-seawater interface
(Belaval et al., 2003). CRP is a complimentary geophysical tool used for
rapid site assessment. Studies involving ER Tomography has been also
carried out by (Cardenas et al., 2010). Electrical Resistivity (ER) from
landside is also used to know the hydrogeology of the coastal aquifers.
Multichannel Electrical Resistivity was used to understand the dynamics
of freshwater-saltwater interaction with respect to tidal fluctuation.
(Dimova et al., 2012; Swarzenski et al., 2009). A study by (Dimova et al.,
2012) used multichannel ER to identify and compare subsurface hy­
drological features. New model temporal changes of subsurface salinity
were measured with respect to tidal fluctuations and it was inferred that
SGD at the study area was from point sources. Multichannel ER has also
been used by (Johnson et al., 2015; Swarzenski et al., 2006, 2007). At
Manapad, Gulf of Mannar, India, 2D Electrical Resistivity imaging was
used to quantify aquifer characters and a clear zone of diffusion of fresh
SGD was demarcated at the study area (Ravindran and Ramanujam,
2014). Time series resistivity study was carried out in the Gulf of
Thailand (Taniguchi et al., 2007). Impacts of water level variations
along the subsurface hydrogeology and fluid exchange process and
investigating the relation of the composition of the advection fluids
related to the subsurface freshwater–saltwater interrelationships were
studied. Resistivity studies were carried out from the Landward side as
well as seaward side using Continuous Resistivity Profiling at Santa
Barbara, CA. Movement of Saltwater-Freshwater interface was exam­
ined with respect to lunar tide and zones of active SGD were mapped
6.5. Silica and methane as tracers of SGD
The dissolved silica (DSi) in water is normally measured as SiO2. Its
concentration in the groundwater usually depends on the rocks and
mineral types through which the water flows (Pradeep et al., 2016). The
DSi can be used as a good tracer as its concentration is significantly high
in the groundwater as compared to seawater (Oehler et al., 2019b).
Compilation of the DSi values obtained from the studies by (Taniguchi
et al., 2008, Rengarajan and Sarma, 2015, Sugimoto et al., 2016, Lecher
et al., 2015, Bishop et al., 2015, Adyasari et al., 2019, Oehler et al.,
2019a, Adolf et al., 2019) showed that the mean value for the concen­
tration of DSi in groundwater was 367.14 μM whereas the coastal water
and river water showed the mean value of 33.15 μM and 119.1 μM
respectively. Thus, anomalies in the values (higher Si value) of the
coastal water sample may be indicative of SGD as it may contain a major
portion of freshwater. Thus, the study of DSi can be helpful in the studies
for SGD identifications. However, DSi cannot be used as a tracer if the
uptake of dissolved silica by the microorganisms of water is greater than
the input of DSi through SGD (Oehler et al., 2019b).
Many unusual events in the coastal area may lead to sudden changes
in the ecosystem of that area which can also be an approach to detect the
occurrence of SGD in that place. One study used methane as a tracer to
detect SGD activities. Due to microbial activity (respiration and
fermentation), the concentration of methane is high in groundwaters
where there is a favourable condition for methanogenesis. The study was
carried out by (Bugna et al., 1996) near Franklin and Wakulla, 80 km SW
of Tallahassee, Florida. Groundwater samples were taken from the upper
portion of Floridian aquifer from shallow wells. The flow of groundwater
was measured using seepage meters. Flame Ionization Detector Gas
Chromatograph was used to determine dissolved methane concentra­
tions. Calculation of methane budgets for nearshore and offshore waters
revealed that larger source of methane in nearshore and offshore water

9
D.S.S. Babu et al.
was benthic source. In a seepage meter of nearshore transect, a signifi­
cant correlation was observed which was consistent with the dissolved
methane obtained from groundwater discharge and also seepage rates
and methane concentrations.
Thus, these techniques help in determining one or the other factor
that is associated with SGD. For example, the occurrence of tides directly
affects the SGD flux which can be measured using seepage meters.
Similarly, the values of the stable isotopes 18O and D would vary with
the tides (Schubert et al., 2014). More depleted values are expected
during low tide in the discharging groundwater. SGD fluctuation during
tidal cycle can also be detected by remote sensing. The interrelationship
of various factors governing SGD, techniques to identify the same and
effects on coastal ecosystem is shown in Fig. 6. The amount of water
flowing into the sea as well as nutrient flux through SGD varies from
place to place.
7. SGD associated contaminant fluxes into the sea
Many studies around the world have observed SGD as a major source
of transport of nutrients from land to sea. This pathway is also a source
of many metals like Iron, Arsenic and Mercury into the coastal ocean
(Windom et al., 2006). in a study at Patos Lagoon, Brazil showed SGD as
a source of dissolved Fe into the ocean. Fe concentration was measured
for surface and groundwater samples and SGD (2 × 106 mol day− 1) and
cross-shelf flux (3.2 × 105 mol day− 1) was measured using Radium
isotopes. Some of the samples collected far from the mouth of lagoon
showed least salinities; and lack of any other freshwater source stressed
that SGD from the permeable barrier was the reason for selective
reduction of salinity along the coastline. The circulation from the
permeable barrier allowed significant Fe to escape to the surface zone
through SGD because the suboxic groundwater enriched in Fe got mixed
with oxygenated seawater forming a narrow mixing zone of shoreline.
The cross-shelf flux accounted to around 10% of the soluble Fe flux to
entire South Atlantic Ocean.
(Bone et al., 2007) in a study in Waquoit bay, USA estimated supply
Fig. 6. Figure showing interrelationship between factors affecting SGD, techniques to determine SGD and the effects of SGD on coastal ecosystem.
10
Journal of Environmental Management 277 (2021) 111362
of 0.47–1.9 nmol Hg m− 2 day− 1 into the bay through SGD. This rate was
higher than atmospheric deposition rate for north eastern US and also
higher than the Hg inputs by river. It was observed that there was a net
inflow of saline water into the aquifer during winter season and there­
fore the Hg associated with the bottom sediments of the bay could be
transported back into the aquifer forming a loop of Hg transport. Thus,
the recirculated SGD could contain a fraction of Hg which originated
from fresh SGD and the one which was circulated back from the surface
bay water. Another study associated with mercury input with SGD was
carried out by (Black et al., 2009) in which SGD was a medium of
transport of total mercury and monomethyl mercury. The reported
fluxes at Stinson beach and Elkhorn Slough for total mercury were 250
± 160 nmol day− 1 m− 1 and 3 ± 2 nmol m− 2 day− 1; and for monomethyl
mercury were10 ± 12 nmol day− 1 m− 1 and 0.24 ± 0.21 nmol m− 2 day− 1
respectively. Transport of trace elements (Al, Mn, Co, Ni, Fe, Cu)
through SGD were observed in summer seawater by (Jeong et al., 2012)
at Bangdu bay, Jeju island, South Korea. SGD driven fluxes of these el­
ements had significant potential of contributing to the budget of trace
elements of the coastal oceans. Apart from natural sources of metals in
the aquifers, large anthropogenic contribution has increased due to ur­
banization. Contamination through domestic and industrial effluents,
improper mining, oil extraction etc. are responsible for metal contami­
nation in shallow aquifers in the urban areas (Kumar et al., 2017). Urban
settlements which are near to the seashore can be the source of metals in
sea through SGD.
SGD was identified as an important nutrient source by (Leote et al.,
2008). The mean SGD flux of 3.6 m3 day− 1 per linear meter of coastline
was observed at Ria Formosa lagoon Portugal using seepage meters. SGD
derived annual loads for Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Silicon were 36.2
mol, 1.1 mol and 18.6 mol respectively. The water at the intermediate to
lower parts of the beach had lower salinity and high nitrate concentra­
tion. In some places, SGD is observed to have ~40% of the water
contribution as compared to river flux and significantly high nutrient
loads as compared to that carried by river. In recent study by (Luijendijk
et al., 2020) the results by spatially resolved global model of coastal
D.S.S. Babu et al.
groundwater discharge showed fresh groundwater inputs to be ~0.6%
of total freshwater input and ~2% of solute input of nutrients like Silica,
Strontium, Carbon and Nitrogen. A study area at Copano bay, Texas
showed ~2 fold more Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen (DIN) input by SGD
to that by river in dry season whereas in wet season the input by SGD
was equal to that of river (Spalt et al., 2020). Thus, it can be inferred that
SGD has a significant role in the amount of water, metals and nutrients
supplied to the estuaries or the sea. Also, in many coastal regions of the
world, co-occurrence of As–F is found. In such areas, SGD might be a
source of transport of Arsenic and Fluoride into the sea. For e.g. in India,
As–F co-occurrence is found in coastal state of West Bengal (Kumar
et al., 2020; Singh et al., 2020). A detailed study on effects that might
occur in the nearshore systems due to any change in the fluxes of SGD
must be carried out. Some of the studies where SGD and nutrient flux
were calculated have been shown in Table 4. The temporal variation of
SGD has been studied on the Yellow River delta (China) previously as
reported by Peterson et al. (2008) and Xu et al. (2013). It was observed
that there was significant fluctuation in the SGD flux ranging between
0.0335 × 109 m3/year (2006) to 0.031 × 109 m3/year (2007). Further
elaborations have been presented in Table 5.
8. Effect of SGD on coastal ecosystem
The groundwater that flows into the sea may have some impacts on
the coastal ecosystem around that area. It is observed that SGD in­
fluences ecosystem productivity, biomass, species composition, and the
zonation. This may result in some changes if the groundwater is
contaminated with pollutants (having an excess of metals, organics, and
nutrients) (Johannes, 1980; Moore, 1996). Some unexpected changes in
the coastal ecosystems have led to the study to understand the process
behind it and such studies have led to detecting the occurrence and
estimating the amount of Submarine Groundwater Discharge.
One such study was carried out in Florida. In January 2005 to 2006 a
harmful algal bloom Karenia brevis was seen to affect coastal waters
which were shallow than 50 m off west-central Florida. The spread of the
hypoxic zone caused the death of the benthic communities of that zone
like fish, marine mammals, turtles, and birds. The surface runoff pro­
vided an insufficient amount of Nitrogen to support the bloom and it was
expected that SGD provided and fulfilled the remaining nutrient inputs
to the sea. It was also proposed that the increase in the amount of SGD
was because of high runoff that occurred in 2004 due to remarkable
number of hurricanes (Hu et al., 2006). A study by (Wang et al., 2014)
shows that SGD influenced by tides is one of the main drivers of acidi­
fication in coastal fringing systems. With the constant rise in atmo­
spheric CO2, it is expected that the pH of surface seawater would
decrease by 0.3–0.4 pH. The increasing load of organics in the watershed
areas affects the quality of groundwater making it more acidic. This,
along with rise in CO2 levels, would make the coastal fringing reefs that
are influenced by tidally driven SGD even more vulnerable. In a study by
(Oehler et al., 2019a) in Lombok, Indonesia, it was observed that one of
the reason for lower NO3 concentration in the groundwater discharging
spring complex (with higher coral reefs) could be due to the uptake of
NO3 by coral reef body as compared to the discharging groundwater
from crater (with less coral reefs). Thus, any change in the groundwater
or nutrient flux rate might directly affect the coral reefs. Other such
examples were noted on Yap Island where SGD had negatively corre­
lated with the density of Thalassia seagrass. On the other hand, in Ja­
maica and Ishigati, it was hypothesized that Nitrogen induced SGD
showed a positive influence on Thalassia growth. (Umezawa et al., 2002;
Houk et al., 2013; Moosdorf et al., 2015).
SGD is an important component of nutrient budget in the estuaries,
which influences the growth of marine biota nearby. Paleovalley mar­
gins through enhanced SGD solute fluxes provided a favourable condi­
tion for oysters (Spalt et al., 2020). A study by (Rengarajan and Sarma,
2015) was carried out to understand the SGD and nutrient flux associ­
ated with it. The study was carried out at Godavari estuarine area
11
Journal of Environmental Management 277 (2021) 111362
revealed that SGD represented a major source of the addition of new
nutrients into the coastal ecosystems. The fluxes due to SGD represented
approximately 54 and 65% of DIC and TA fluxes discharged by the river
to the Godavari estuarine system. Thus, SGD is an important source of
inorganic carbon components. In a study by (Charette et al., 2013) near
the Caloosahatchee river estuary, the groundwater was highly enriched
in nitrogen and phosphate indicating the important source of nutrients
to the algae in the form of ammonium which lead to consumption by
primary producers of the estuary and resulting into algal bloom. Hence,
the risk associated with eutrophication increases. Also, the bioavail­
ability of nitrogen is by the process of nitrification-denitrification. Any
additional source or increase in incoming nitrogen content can lead to
changes in local biogeochemical cycles (Welti et al., 2015). However,
the way in which SGD may affect the primary production and marine
animals varies for different ecosystems. The variation is based upon the
processes of discharge, hydrogeography of area, nutrient load, etc. Some
other studies related to the effect of SGD on the biota of that area are
shown in Table 6.
9. Future research and indian perspectives
The SGD supply towards Atlantic coast and towards Arctic ocean
through respective coastal aquifers have been computed and reported.
Different such efforts are also being carried out along segments of
various continental margins. The countries like Japan and New Zealand
are seriously considering SGD as a component in their national water
balance calculations. India has a large coastline of 7516 km with many
of the areas being potential SGD zones. The eastern coast is surrounded
by Bay of Bengal whereas Arabian sea covers the western coast. Studies
pertaining to SGD in India have been carried out previously using
techniques such as resistivity, isotopes of Ra, Rn, Sr, O and H. However,
a detailed study giving an overall glimpse on SGD investigations and
findings in India is yet lacking. Looking at the important implications of
SGD, a national project named ‘Unravelling Submarine Groundwater
Discharge (SGD) zones along the Indian subcontinent and its islands
(Mission-SGD)’ is being carried out with joint efforts of Ministry of Earth
Sciences (MoES) and seventeen research institutes of India. A detailed
study on SGD/SWI zones and computation of SGD flux, carbon and
nutrient load along the entire coastline is being carried out. The study
aims at understanding the role of SGD in the productivity of shallow
marine environment in Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal. This study will
have many societal and environmental benefits.
Identification of SGD along both the coasts of India is based on
multiproxy approach of complementary techniques. The first approach
consists of analysing the archival data like reports and databases
collected from Central Groundwater Board of India. Compilation and
detailed analysis of the data like borehole and monitoring well water
level, statigraphy and geophysical data, material properties like hy­
draulic conductivity, particle size distribution and water retention
curves, groundwater quality, surface water information of flow data,
water quality will help in developing a physical model of designated
area to calculate flux. In the next step, mapping of the SGD zones would
be done using thermal imagery. The data on thermal contrasts would be
obtained from thermal sensors on board of satellites like LANDSAT7
ETM, LANDSAT8 ETM and TIR or ASTER. Estimation of SST would be
done using different algorithms such as Planck, Mono-Window Algo­
rithm, Syariz and Split window algorithms. Thermal infrared imaging
using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles would be useful to identify thermal
signatures of SGD plumes and their temporal fluctuations.
The water sampling would be carried out at every 1 km interval
parallel to the coast. The in-situ parameters would be measured and the
samples from each of the locations would be collected for further anal­
ysis in laboratory. Analysis of the parameters like DIC, DOC, Silicon and
Nutrients would be carried out. Also, isotope analysis for δD and δ18O
would be carried out. Porewater sampling would be carried out by Push-
point sampler. In the later stage, the study would be carried out using
D.S.S. Babu et al. Journal of Environmental Management 277 (2021) 111362

Table 4
Compilation of studies showing SGD and nutrient flux observed in different countries.
Study area SGD flux % to riverine flux/ Method Nutrient flux % to riverine flux Reference
surface water flux

Yellow river delta, Sept 2006: 4.5–13.9 Radium time series, The SGD and nitrate fluxes were Peterson et al.
China cm d− 1 Radon, seepage estimated to be 2–3 times that of the (2008)
July 2007: 5.2–11.8 meter Yellow River.
cm d− 1
Yellow river, China 1.3 × 109 m3 d− 1; SGD value at least 3 224
Ra/223Ra activity Nutrient input in estuary through Xu et al.
range (2.8 × 108 to times higher than that ratios SGD at least 5 times higher than the (2013)
3.0 × 109 m3 d− 1) of the river discharge at river
that time
Jiaozhou bay, Autumn: 15.17 × 106 Ra mass balance Autumn: SGD based nutrient input an Yuan et al.
China m3 day− 1. DIN 998.6 × 104 important component of total (2014)
Spring: 6.53 × 106 m3 mol d− 1 nutrient inputs in Jiaozhou bay.
day− 1. Soluble Silicate
254.1 × 104 mol
d− 1
SRP 0.2 × 104 mol
d− 1
Spring:
DIN 385.1 × 104
mol d− 1
Soluble Silicate
128.1 × 104 mol
d− 1
SRP 5.8 × 104 mol
d− 1
Gautami Godavari a) 6.8–12.7 × 106 m3 a) Ra–Si three end (48–88) × 109 mol DIC and TA fluxes from SGD are Rengarajan
river estuary, d− 1 member mixing DIC y-1; ~54–62% to that from riverine and Sarma
India b) (1.34–7.44) × 106 model (51–94) × 109 mol fluxes to Godavari estuarine system (2015)
m3 d− 1 b) Ra mass balance TA y-1
model
87
Narmada estuary, Pre monsoon: ~5 cm/ 20% of water to Sr/86Sr (Rahman
Gujarat, India day estuary is contributed et al., 2019)
Monsoon: 280 cm/day by SGD
Hampyeong bay, May: 0.14 m3m− 2d− 1 Ra mass balance May: SGD transported 50–70% of nutrient Waska and
SW coast, Korea Sept: 0.35 m3m− 2d− 1 DSi: 4.7 × 105 mol flux into the bay and supported Kim (2011)
d− 1 primary production
DIN: 5.7 × 105
mol d− 1
DIP: 7.3 × 103 mol
d− 1
Sept:
DSi: 1.1 × 106 mol
d− 1
DIN: 6.4 × 105
mol d− 1
DIP: 3.2 × 104 mol
d− 1
Bangdu Bay, Jeju, 120–180 m3 m− 2
yr− 1 222
Rn,224,226Ra and DIN: 21.4 mmol N DIN: 90% Hwang et al.
Korea Si mass balance, m− 2 d− 1 DIP: 20% (2005)
Nutrients DIP: 0.16 mmol P DSi: 80%
m− 2 d− 1 Of the total nutrient inputs
DIN/DIP: 134
Obama bay, Japan Seasonally averaged: Highest SGD fraction to Salinity and222Rn DIN 42%, Sugimoto et al.
0.36 × 106 m3 day− 1. total terrestrial fresh mass balance model DIP: 65% (2016)
water fluxes (summer) DIS: 33%Nutrient fluxes from SGD
(>40%) as compared to all terrestrial fluxes
222
Batan peninsula, Average integrated Rn, Continuous DIN flux by SGD are 42% and 96% Taniguchi
Manila bay, seepage 12.4 m3 m-11 heat automated to that of the Pampanga and Pasig et al. (2008)
Phillipines d− 1 seepage meters Rivers respectively. Estimated SGD
inputs of PO4 are lower, at 7% and
17% of the two rivers
Caloosahatchee Terrestrial Average 43% of river Ra isotopes, TDN: 450 ± 490 SGD flux of DIN and SRP 3 and 1.5 Charette et al.
river, Florida, groundwater-44%of discharge Nutrient analysis kg d− 1, DIN: 241 times lower than river flux. Surface (2013)
USA total SGD ± 267 kg d− 1, SRP: TDN fluxes 6 times more than SGD
Avg flux: 4.8 ± 5.5 × 93 ± 111 kg d− 1, derived fluxes.
105m3d− 1
2
Chesapeake Bay, SGD flux from surface 6% of the SGD flux of Ra isotopes and DIN 4.5 mmol m− Charette and
USA (marsh) aquifer and the entire Chesapeake Nutrients d− 1 Buesseler
deep aquifer: 1 × 106 Bay and 5% of James DIP 0.16 mmol (2004)
m3 d− 1 River m− 2 d− 1
Waquoit bay, Aug 2006: 11,212 m3 Radon, methane, Dulaiova et al.
Boston Harbor, d− 1 Nitrate, Salinity (2010)
MA, USA Dec 2006: 56,862 m3
d− 1
(continued on next page)

12
D.S.S. Babu et al. Journal of Environmental Management 277 (2021) 111362

Table 4 (continued )
Study area SGD flux % to riverine flux/ Method Nutrient flux % to riverine flux Reference
surface water flux

Atlantic Ocean 2–4 × 1013 m3 year− 1

80–160% of Atlantic 228
Ra Moore et al.
river flux (2008)
La Palme lagoon, Terrestrial Ra isotopes and Bejannin et al.
France groundwater discharge salinity (2017)
fluxes: <2% of riverine
fluxes;
Marine groundwater
fluxes: 2 orders of
magnitude higher
Gulf of Lion, SE 2.4–45 × 109 l/d 1.6–29% of river input Ollivier et al.
France (2008)
Venice Lagoon, Isola la Cura: Average Manual seepage Rapaglia
Italy flux 30 cm d− 1 meters, Ra isotopes, (2005)
Fusina: Average flux 6 Nutrients,
cm d− 1
Donnalucata basin, Beach spring: 1217 m3 Radon monitoring, Burnett and
Sicily, Italy day− 1. seepage meter Dulaiova
Blend (surfical and (2006)
limestone aquifer:
3765 m3 day− 1.
Pier wells: 7436 m3
day− 1.

Table 5
Reported submarine groundwater discharge (x 109 m3 year− 1) in the different countries.
Years India China USA Japan France
1 3 5
2000–2005 150 @ Bay of Bengal in 2003, 1 @sub estuary of 24 × 106
2
5.9 @ western Bengal basin in 2005 Chesapeake Bay (Elizabeth @
River) in 2000 Gulf of
Lion in
2003
6 7 9
2006–2010 0.520 @Narmada estuary Gujarat in 2010 0.0335 @ Yellow 0.01242 @ Waquoit bay,
River delta, China in Boston Harbor in 2006;
10
2006; 0.175@ Caloosahatchee
7
0.031 @ Yellow river river, Florida, USA in 2010
delta, China in 2007;
8
474.5 @Yellow river,
China in 2010
11
2011–2015 1.266 @Gautami Godavari River estuary India in 2011; 1221.9 @ 15
5.537 @Jiaozhou 16
0.131 @
Manapad, Tuticorin, India in 2012; 130.89 @ Bay of Bengal in 2014; bay, China in 2011; Obama Bay,
14 15
0.018 @ Cuddalore district South east coast of India in 2014 2.383 @ Japan in 2013
Jiaozhou bay, China in
2013
17 18
2016–2020 0.321@Sankarabarani River Basin, Pondicherry, India in 2017 23.36 @Bohai Bay,
China in 2017

1.(Dowling et al., 2003); 2. (Mukherjee et al., 2007); 3. (Charette and Buesseler, 2004); 4.5. (Ollivier et al., 2008); 6. (Rahaman and Singh, 2012); 7. (Peterson et al.,
2008); 8. (Xu et al., 2013); 9 (Dulaiova et al., 2010); 10. (Charette et al., 2013); 11. (Rengarajan and Sarma, 2015); 12. (Ravindran and Ramanujam, 2014); 13.
(Debnath and Mukherjee, 2016); 14. (Chidambaram et al., 2017); 15. (Yuan et al., 2014), 16. (Sugimoto et al., 2016); 17. (Srinivasamoorthy et al., 2019); 18 (Wang
et al., 2019).

222
Radon and resistivity technique. The SGD flux would be estimated
using seepage meters and by measuring Radium isotopes. Using nu­
merical models would also be helpful for studying basin-scale ground­
water hydrology. The outcomes of this project would help in proper
management and use of the groundwater resources of the coastal areas
of India and help in solving issues related to water availability and
distribution.
Further research focusing on relationship of climate change and SGD
should be carried out with an objective to assess positive and negative
impacts it can have on coastal ecosystems of different regions. In-depth
studies need to be carried out on the impacts that exogenic and endo­
genic changes might have on the associated factors that govern SGD; as
they can highly affect the amount and quality of SGD. In many countries,
the coastal areas suffer from the problem of unavailability of good
quality and quantity of groundwater. In such a situation, water can be
sustainably tapped from the coastal aquifers where SGD occurs or from
the SGD site itself. For this, a detailed investigation on the process and
sources of recharge in the coastal aquifers, the discharge pattern and
SGD flux; and its future impacts to the other coastal aquifers and marine
biota must be carried out. This would be beneficial to the countries like
India with a large population residing in the coastal areas, by solving
major freshwater scarcity issues. In other words, the massive efforts with
public participation to address rainwater harvesting for aquifer recharge
may not yield the desired results and be fully productive, if the leakage
occurs as SGD through favourable zones in coastal aquifer system.
10. Conclusion
The submarine groundwater discharge consists of submarine fresh
groundwater discharge and recirculated saline groundwater discharge.
Various processes are associated with the submarine groundwater
flowing into the sea. Important driving forces for SGD are density and
thermal-based circulations, tidal actions, and wave setup. Apart from
these, floating and flushing are other processes associated with it. It can

13
D.S.S. Babu et al. Journal of Environmental Management 277 (2021) 111362

Table 6
A comprehensive study showing the effect of SGD on marine biota.
Sr Study area Biota of study Parameters studied Findings Reference
No

1 Coastal lagoon, Perth, Seagrass, Macroalgae Nitrate, Ammonia, Silicate, Salinity, SGD delivers enough nitrate to consumed by Johannes and
Australia DON, DOP macrophytes for their growth and also enough to Hearn (1985)
replace the amount in 520 days.
2 North Stradbroke Diatoms Porewater EC, temperature, pH, ORP, Diatoms found near GWS were different than Welti et al.
Island, Moreton Bay, nutrients, DOC, Cations, Diatoms those found in surrounding area. 25 taxa were (2015)
Australia identified out of which 4 were unique to
freshwater habitat and found only at
groundwater springs
3. West coast, Mauritius Reef fish Chrysiptera glauca Otolith analysis, onsite physico Somatic growth rates were higher at SGD sites Lilkendey et al.
chemical parameters, nutrients than other marine conditions. (2019)
4 Jamaica, SE Florida, Corals, macroalgae Enrichment bioassay, nutrients, DIN and SRP exceeded nutrient threshold which Lapointe
USA Salinity,15N:14N ratio, Soluble reactive sustained macroalgal blooms on coral reefs. (1997)
phosphorous Increased DIN was associated with decreased
salinity in reefs and SGD is significant source of
DIN into the reef.
5 Monterey Bay, Phytoplanktons Chl a,224Ra, nutrients SGD derived nutrients feed the bloom forming Lecher et al.
California, USA Dinoflagellates, diatoms phytoplankton. (2015)
6 Gulf of Alaska, USA Phytoplanktons, mainly Bioassay incubation, Nitrate, Silicate, All three genera of diatoms showed increase in Lecher et al.
diatoms Ammonium abundance during lower salinity. (2017)
7 Maui, USA Common reef algae: Algal bioassays, benthic community Reefs near sugarcane farms had high N in algal Amato et al.
Acanthophora spicifera, analysis, geochemical methods, δ15N tissues, suggesting SGD as a significant source of (2016)
Hypnea musciformis, Ulva spp nutrients to nearshore marine biota.
8. O’ahu,Hawaii, Algal biomass Sainity, nutrients, other physical (wave Specie specific macroalgal biomass is La Valle et al.
Maunalua Bay, USA and wind exposure) and chemical significantly related to SGD. (2019)
parameters
9 Kiholo bay, Kaloko Phytoplankton and bacteria Salinity, nutrients, chl a Phytoplankton biomass in fishponds was Adolf et al.
Honokohau, Hawaii, increased, average cell size was also seen to (2019)
USA increase.
10 Ishigaki island, Japan Seagrass and benthic algae in DIN Abundance in nearshore reef vegetation was (Umezawa
nearshore reef found and high algal biomass was due to higher et al., 2002.)
nitrogen which was derived from land through
groundwater.
11 Shiraho reef, Japan Diatoms, Cyanobacteria Chl-a, SiO2, DIN, DIP, NO2, NO3, NH−4 Both, Cyanobacteria and diatoms showed Blanco et al.
On-site parameters like DO, temp, pH, increasing trend with SGD, and SGD significantly (2011)
turbidity, EC and222Rn for SGD induces proliferation of cyanobacteria in
identification nearshore reef areas
222
12 Obama Bay, Beppu Bay, Phytoplanktons Rn, δ13C Low biomass productivity near submarine springs Sugimoto et al.
coast along western foot is seen and have negative impact on (2017)
of Mt Chokai, Japan phytoplankton growth rate near vent sites.
222
13 Jeju island, Korea Benthic algae Rn,224 Ra,226 Ra, Silica Benthic eutrophication can be caused due to Hwang et al.
excess nutrients derived from SGD. (2005)
223
14 Southern sea, Korea Phytoplanktons harmful Ra and224 Ra, DIN/DIP, TIN/TIP, Lee and Kim
dinoflagelllates silicate (2007)
15 Off Southern coast, Phytoplankton, Ra isotopes, Temperature, Salinity, Red tides start growing under conditions when Lee et al.
Korean peninsula Dinoflagellates Nutrients, Si(OH)4, DIN, DIP,DTN, DSi, DIP or DIN is completely depleted while dissolved (2010)
analysis of photosynthetic pigments of organic nutrients that are transformed from DIN
phytoplankton derived from groundwater
16 Olhos de Agua beach, Meiofauna Sediment analysis, Organic matter, SGD stimulates increase in meiofaunal diversity Encarnação
Southern Portugese ecological indices by better sediment aeration as well as higher food et al. (2013)
coast availability (phytoplankton blooms)
17 Puck bay, Baltic sea, Nematodes, Meiofauna Methane, Grain-size statistics, staining SGD showed decline in some meiofaunal taxa, Kotwicki et al.
Poland decantation, handpicking and especially nematodes and harpactocides; and (2014)
classification altered patterns of temporal distribution of
meiofaunal assemblages.
18 South coast of Portugal Benthic macrofauna, Temperature, Salinity, pH, Leitão et al.
macroinvertebrates (2015)
19 Hel bight, Poland, Microbenthos Salinity, Methane, Phosphate, SGD derived silicate and phosphate promoted Donis et al.
Southern Baltic sea Sulphate, Silica, DOC, DIC, δ13C DIC, production rate of net community found near (2017)
DO, Mn+2, Fe+ seepage sites twice compared to adjacent non
seepage sites.
20 Olhos de Agua beach, Rocky intertidal benthic Chl-a, salinity, ammonium, Chl-a concentration was high and difference in Piló et al.
Southern Portugese communities- Molluscs temperature, DIN, DIP, RNADNA ratio, community structure was observed at SGD sites. (2018)
coast res RNA, SGD derived nutrients increased local prey
availability and was beneficial for herbivores and
filter feeders.
21 Eckernforde bay, West Macrofauna Methane oxidation rate, Sulphate Higher methane oxidation by microbes and Bussmann
Baltic sea, Germany reduction rate, Iron sulphide, sulphate reduction was observed at site with et al. (1999)
Elemental Sulphur, Chloride, Ca, Mg, groundwater seepage and mats of Sulphur
Na oxidizing bacteria were observed at that location.
Elevated bacterial activities didn’t result into
higher macrofauna densities or symbiotic
relationships at seepage site.

14
D.S.S. Babu et al.
be inferred from various studies that.
• Maximum SGD flux occurs during low tide and minimum during high
tide and it is highest during spring tides and decreases towards neap
tides.
• SGD is an important pathway for the transport of nutrients and
metals into the sea.
• SGD can be quantified using various methods. The mass balance
approach using Rn and Ra has been helpful in various studies and the
isotope signatures of these help in identifying the input of each
component of SGD.
• Remote sensing approach using satellite-based images or UAV is
helpful to identify the potential zones of SGD based on temperature
anomalies.
• SGD influences the growth of various biota in the region near
discharge. Therefore, the quality of groundwater that gets mixed into
the sea becomes very important and efforts should be taken to reduce
the excess nutrient load (due to anthropogenic activities) which act
as pollutant.
• Studies on the quantification of SGD can be helpful in the sustainable
use of this water that gets mixed into the sea. Focus on the reducing
the errors in the quantification will help to have a better estimation
of SGD along with study on the temporal variation of SGD.
• A detailed investigation of SGD in countries like India would help in
better management and sustainable utilization of groundwater
resources.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
D.S. Suresh Babu: Conceptualization, Visualization, Writing -
original draft, Writing - review & editing. Ashwini Khandekar: Writing
- original draft, Writing - review & editing. Chandrashekhar Bhagat:
Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Ashwin Singh:
Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Vikrant Jain: Su­
pervision, Writing - original draft. Mithila Verma: Writing - original
draft, Project administration. Brijesh K. Bansal: Conceptualization,
Supervision, Project administration. Manish Kumar: Supervision,
Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing - original draft, Project
administration.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
We are grateful to the National Centre for Earth Sciences Studies and
Ministry of Earth Sciences for financial support and providing needful
resources for the project. We are also thankful to Indian Institute of
Technology, Gandhinagar, Central Ground Water Board, Ahmedabad
and Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad for constant support for
the project.
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