IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v16y2025i1d10.1038_s41467-025-62411-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Coastal aquifers key contributors to ocean chemistry through solute fluxes

Author

Listed:
  • Yael Kiro

    (Weizmann Institute of Science)

Abstract

Understanding the ocean’s chemical composition is key to assessing the carbon cycle and its climate impact, especially through its control on calcium carbonate saturation and preservation. While rivers and hydrothermal systems are recognized contributors to ocean chemistry, the role of coastal aquifers has been underestimated. This study shows that long-term submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is a major source of solute fluxes to the ocean, especially of calcium and alkalinity, while removing sodium and potassium. Through analysis of elemental and isotopic ocean budgets, we find that fluxes from long-term SGD rival those from rivers in magnitude. These fluxes influence the residence times of major elements and significantly affect the global carbon budget. Moreover, they are dynamically linked to sea-level changes: falling sea levels enhance SGD-driven solute inputs, whereas rising sea levels suppress them. These patterns suggest that SGD fluxes may regulate long-term climate trends, including rates of global cooling or warming.

Suggested Citation

  • Yael Kiro, 2025. "Coastal aquifers key contributors to ocean chemistry through solute fluxes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-62411-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62411-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-62411-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-025-62411-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elco Luijendijk & Tom Gleeson & Nils Moosdorf, 2020. "Fresh groundwater discharge insignificant for the world’s oceans but important for coastal ecosystems," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Holly A. Michael & Ann E. Mulligan & Charles F. Harvey, 2005. "Seasonal oscillations in water exchange between aquifers and the coastal ocean," Nature, Nature, vol. 436(7054), pages 1145-1148, August.
    3. Richard D. Berg & Evan A. Solomon & Fang-Zhen Teng, 2019. "The role of marine sediment diagenesis in the modern oceanic magnesium cycle," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Netta Shalev & Tomaso R. R. Bontognali & C. Geoffrey Wheat & Derek Vance, 2019. "New isotope constraints on the Mg oceanic budget point to cryptic modern dolomite formation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alicia M. Wilson & Andrew Osborne & Scott M. White, 2024. "Large-scale groundwater flow and sedimentary diagenesis in continental shelves influence marine chemical budgets," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Tianyi Zhu & Shibin Zhao & Bochao Xu & Dongyan Liu & M. Bayani Cardenas & Huaming Yu & Yan Zhang & Xiaogang Chen & Kai Xiao & Lixin Yi & Hyung-Mi Cho & Sumei Liu & Ziliang Zhang & Ergang Lian & Willia, 2025. "Large scale submarine groundwater discharge dominates nutrient inputs to China’s coast," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Yashna Devi Beeharry & Girish Bekaroo & Chandradeo Bokhoree & Michael Robert Phillips, 2022. "Impacts of sea-level rise on coastal zones of Mauritius: insights following calculation of a coastal vulnerability index," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 114(1), pages 27-55, October.
    4. Sina Sadeghfam & Rahman Khatibi & Rasoul Daneshfaraz & Hamid Borhan Rashidi, 2020. "Transforming Vulnerability Indexing for Saltwater Intrusion into Risk Indexing through a Fuzzy Catastrophe Scheme," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 34(1), pages 175-194, January.
    5. Andre Baldermann & Santanu Banerjee & György Czuppon & Martin Dietzel & Juraj Farkaš & Stefan Lӧhr & Ulrike Moser & Esther Scheiblhofer & Nicky M. Wright & Thomas Zack, 2022. "Impact of green clay authigenesis on element sequestration in marine settings," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-62411-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.