Submarine groundwater discharge within a landslide scar at the French Mediterranean coast

Abstract

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), the flow of fresh and saline groundwater from the seabed into the coastal ocean, has been intensively investigated in the recent years. This research has usually been restricted to shallow water and intertidal areas, whereas knowledge about groundwater seepage in deeper water is mainly limited to point sources from karstic aquifers. In this study we observed submarine groundwater seepage and a subterranean estuary in sediments at water depths of 20–44 m located within the Ligurian Margin, western Mediterranean Sea. Here, a catastrophic submarine landslide occurred near the Nice airport (French Ligurian coast) in the fall of 1979 after a period of heavy rainfall. During two research cruises, gravity cores were recovered in and around the area of the landslide scar. Pore water samples collected from sediment cores indicated sediments containing freshwater within the landslide scar. Pore water profiles of selected ions, such as chloride, ammonium, manganese, sulfate and barium were used to assess transport and reaction processes within the sediment. A 1-dimensional transport model indicates in most cores upward pore water velocities of 2.3–8.8 cm yr−1. This study shows that submarine groundwater seepage along the French Mediterranean coastline can occur at water depths reaching 44 m.