The biogeochemical functioning and importance of coastal zone groundwater connectivity

世界各地的沿海环境受到人口快速增长和资源使用多样化的越来越大的压力。与此同时，这些环境在自然过程中经历了变化，既有陆地来源的，也有海洋来源的，作用范围和频率范围很广。由于沿海含水层和海洋之间的强烈相互作用，陆地输入的变化对沿海生物地球化学循环具有重大的地方和区域影响。我的研究计划的目标是建立一个理论框架，以了解海岸带地下水连通性的生物地球化学功能和重要性。我的计划是基于特定地点的方法，但我预计这种量化方法将使我们能够推进和完善理论框架，从而改进我们对海岸带地下水连通性对全球变化的响应以及由此对海洋系统和人类社会在与气候相关的时间尺度上的影响的预测。我的研究方案是在陆地海洋连续体概念的框架内，有具体的短期目标，涉及来自海滩地下水的碳的矿化和通量估计(目标1)、过去对现在生物地球化学过程的沉积印记(目标2)、以及校准潜在的生物地球化学档案以重建海底排放的过去变化(目标3)。这一新计划将通过结合水文地质学、地球化学和微生物学的方法和概念，在沿海科学领域产生独特的科学专长。研究活动将包括培训两名博士和两名硕士学生，以及支持五个本科生暑期职位。它将包括尖端问题、技术、技能和国际合作，这些将作为他们培训的一部分转移到HQP。这项研究将通过以下方式促进沿海资源的可持续规划和管理：1)发展关于沿海地区地下水连通性功能的基本知识；2)开发新的工具，为沿海监测建立长期基线条件；3)预测海平面上升对沿海生态系统的未来影响；4)培训新一代高素质的人员，他们具有扎实的环境化学专业知识和使用最先进分析工具的能力；5)为加拿大政府的海洋保护计划作出贡献；6)向地方、地区和省级决策者转让经验和理论知识。

Coastal environments worldwide are subject to increasing pressures from rapid population growth and diversifying resource use. At the same time, these environments experience variations in natural processeswith both terrestrial and marine originsthat act over wide magnitude and frequency scales. Because of the strong interactions between the coastal aquifer and the ocean, changes in terrestrial inputs have significant local- and regional-scale impacts on coastal biogeochemical cycles. The goal of my research program is to develop a theoretical framework to understand the biogeochemical functioning and importance of coastal zone groundwater connectivity. My program is based on a site-specific approach, but I expect that this quantitative approach will allow us to advance and refine the theoretical framework and thus improve our predictions on the response of coastal zone groundwater connectivity to global changes and the resulting effects on the oceanic system and human society over climate-relevant timescales. My research program is framed within the landocean continuum concept, with specific short-term objectives related to the mineralization and flux estimation of carbon derived from beach groundwater (objective 1), to the past's depositional imprint on present biogeochemical processes (objective 2), and to the calibration of potential biogeochemical archives to reconstruct past variations of submarine discharge (objective 3). This new program will lead to a unique scientific expertise in coastal sciences by combining hydrogeological, geochemical, and microbiological approaches and concepts. The research activities will involve the training of two PhD and two MSc students as well as the support of five undergraduate summer positions. It will include cutting-edge issues, technologies, skills, and international collaborations that will be transferred to HQP as part of their training. This research will contribute to the sustainable planning and management of coastal resources by 1) developing fundamental knowledge on the functioning of coastal zone groundwater connectivity; 2) developing new tools to establish long baseline conditions for coastal monitoring; 3) anticipating future impacts of sea-level rise on coastal ecosystems; (4) training a new generation of highly qualified personnel with solid expertise in environmental chemistry and the ability to use state-of-the-art analytical tools; (5) contributing to the Ocean Protection Plan of the Government of Canada; and (6) transferring empirical and theoretical knowledge to local, regional, and provincial decision-makers.