Impacts of Temporal and Spatial Variation of Submarine Groundwater Discharge on Nutrient Fluxes to Texas Coastal Embayments

Summary

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) will generate information related to groundwater discharge rates to improve Environmental Flow recommendations and nutrient criteria in south Texas estuaries.  Project objectives include: 1) characterizing the spatial-temporal variation of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) rates and nutrient discharge rates; 2) evaluating the role of subsurface heterogeneity in SGD and nutrient discharge in system-wide nutrient budgets; and 3) understanding the main sources of freshwater inflow and nutrients to the Nueces Estuary. The project will increase understanding of nutrient dynamics in Texas estuaries, help set nutrient criteria, and improve calibration of groundwater availability models.