Submarine Groundwater‐Borne Nutrients in a Tropical Bay (Maowei Sea, China) and Their Impacts on the Oyster Aquaculture

Abstract

Abstract Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) has been recognized as an important pathway for nutrients into estuaries, coasts, and the adjacent seas. In this study, 222 Rn was used to estimate the SGD‐associated nutrient fluxes into an aquaculture area in a typical tropical bay (Maowei Sea, China). The SGD into the Maowei Sea during June 2016 was estimated to be 0.36 ± 0.33 m d −1 and was associated with SGD‐derived dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), and dissolved silicon (DSi) fluxes (mol d −1 ) of (4.5 ± 5.5) × 10 6 , (5.3 ± 9.1) × 10 4 , and (9.4 ± 9.3) × 10 6 , respectively. The SGD‐derived nutrients (i.e., DIN, DIP, and DSi) were more than 1.9, 0.9, and 3.6 times the amounts in the local river input and served as dominant sources in the nutrient budgets in the Maowei Sea. Moreover, the N/P ratios in the SGD around the Maowei Sea were high (mean: 64), and these ratios likely exceeded the environmental self‐purification capacity, thereby enhancing the biomass and changing the phytoplankton community structure. Therefore, SGD processes with derived nutrients may affect the biogeochemical cycles and marine ecological environment in the Maowei Sea. Furthermore, the N/P ratios (∼67) in oysters are very close to those in the SGD in the Maowei Sea; this coincidence suggests that the high N/P ratios in the SGD are likely to be one of the most important sources that support oyster aquaculture, which might weaken the burden of water eutrophication in the Maowei Sea.