A Perceptual Model of Drivers and Limiters of Coastal Groundwater Dynamics

Abstract

Coastal groundwater is a vital resource for coastal communities around the globe, and submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) delivers nutrients to coastal marine ecosystems. Climatic changes and anthropogenic actions alter coastal hydrology, causing seawater intrusion (SWI) globally. However, the selection of SWI and SGD study sites may be highly biased, limiting our process knowledge. Here, we analyse hydroenvironmental characteristics of coastal basins studied in 1298 publications on SGD and SWI to understand these potential biases. We find that studies are biased towards basins with gross domestic product per capita below (SWI) and above (SGD) the median of all global coastal basins. Urban coastal basins are strongly overrepresented compared to rural coastal basins, limiting our progress in understanding undisturbed natural processes. Despite the connection between anthropogenic activity and coastal groundwater issues, and the consequential overrepresentation of urban basins in coastal groundwater studies, perceptual (or conceptual) models of coastal groundwater rarely include anthropogenic influences aside from pumping (e.g., subsidence, land use change). Taking a holistic view on coastal groundwater flows, we have developed an editable perceptual model illustrating the current understanding, including both natural and anthropogenic drivers. As SGD and SWI in new areas of the globe are studied, we advocate for researchers to utilise and further edit this perceptual model to openly communicate our process understanding and study assumptions.