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Submarine Groundwater Discharge In The Southern Chesapeake Bay: Constraints From Numerical Models, Charles Louis Carlson

OES Theses and Dissertations

Terrestrial and oceanic forces drive fluid flow within the coastal zone to produce submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). Groundwater flowing from the seabed serves as a significant pathway for contaminants and nutrients, producing an active biogeochemical reaction zone. In order to quantify the importance of SGD in geochemical and hydrologic budgets for the lower Chesapeake Bay, three coastal Virginia transects (southern Eastern Shore, Lafayette River, and Ocean View beach) with different topographic gradients were modeled using similar boundary conditions and consistent treatment of hydrogeologic layers. A sensitivity study was performed on the variables of recharge rate, seawater density, and hydraulic permeability. …