US-Egypt Cooperative Research: Study of Nutrient Fluxes via Submarine Groundwater Discharge into the Coastal Zone Around Alexandria, Egypt

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0809040BurnettThis project supports collaborative research by Dr. William Burnett, Florida State University, Tallahassee and Dr. Ayman El-Gamal, Coastal Research Institute, Alexandria, Egypt. They plan a study on ?Study of Nutrient Fluxes Submarine Groundwater Discharge into the Coastal Zone Around Alexandria? Technical Merit: Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) represents an important, yet largely unquantified pathway for nutrients and other dissolved constituents from land to the coastal ocean. Coastal oceanographers and hydrologists have shown that slow yet persistent seepage of fresh groundwater through sediments occurs wherever an aquifer with a positive head is hydraulically connected to a surface water body. It is now recognized that a considerable amount of seawater is also recirculated through coastal aquifer systems. Both fresh and saline water inputs contribute nutrients and other dissolved solids to coastal waters. This project has three distinct objectives: (1) investigate the role of SGD in the delivery of nutrients to the coastal zone around Alexandria, Egypt; (2) estimate groundwater fluxes using natural radioisotopes; and (3) contribute to the dissemination of knowledge concerning SGD, measurement techniques, and its potential coastal management implications in Egypt. The selected site is located near Alexandria around the outlet of West El-Nobareya Drain (about 21 km west of the center of Alexandria). Groundwater is found at shallow depths in the vicinity of Alexandria. In addition, the groundwater quality is deteriorating as a consequence of the infiltration of contaminated surface water into the aquifers. The PIs will use automated radon monitors for continuous measurements of SGD flow over various time periods. They plan to construct a detailed nutrient budget for the site. Potential sources of nutrients to this area include surface water inflow, atmospheric deposition, diffusion across the sediment water interface, and SGD, that is currently unknown. This would likely be the first groundwater discharge study in North African coastal waters. Broader impacts: Human resource development will be an important aspect of this project via capacity building in a developing country and meaningful graduate student participation in the field studies and other aspects of the research. A graduate student at Florida State University will have the opportunity to add to his Ph.D. research during this project. The project also involves important coastal zone management issues as the urban coastal system being studied has suffered from over consumption of groundwater, subsidence relating to this over pumping, and increased contamination from fertilizer, sewage, and other pollution sources. Nutrient inputs from contaminated groundwaters have been implicated in the eutrophication of near-shore waters and the increasing occurrence of harmful algal blooms offshore. This project is being supported under the US-Egypt Joint Fund Program.