Tracing terrestrial groundwater discharge and porewater exchange derived dissolved carbon export in a tropical estuary using multiple isotopes

Coastal terrestrial groundwater discharge and porewater exchange are two different submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) pathways. The contribution of both pathways in dissolved carbon export to the coastal water remains almost unknown. Here, we investigated terrestrial groundwater discharge, porewater exchange, and dissolved carbon export in a tropical estuary (Moyangjiang, China) using stable water (δ²H and δ¹⁸O) and radioactive (²²²Rn, ²²⁴Ra, and ²²⁸Th) isotopes. The average terrestrial groundwater discharge was estimated to be (3.2±0.2) × 10⁶ m³ d⁻¹ by a three end-member mixing model of δ¹⁸O and salinity. The porewater exchange was estimated to be 11.3±0.14 cm d⁻¹ by the ²²⁴Ra/²²⁸Th disequilibrium method. Accordingly, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) fluxes from terrestrial groundwater discharge were estimated to be (1.19±0.10) × 10⁷ and (3.23±0.25) × 10⁵ mol d⁻¹, respectively. In comparison, when upscaling to the whole estuary, DIC and DOC export fluxes from porewater exchange were estimated to be (1.56±0.21) × 10⁵ and (2.12±0.29) × 10⁵ mol d⁻¹, respectively. Terrestrial groundwater discharge derived DIC flux was two orders of magnitude greater than that from porewater exchange, and was three times greater than that from river discharge. Terrestrial groundwater discharge was recognized as a significant contributor to DIC export. Porewater exchange played a disproportionately important role in the delivery of DOC to the ocean, and its contribution to DOC needed to be emphasized. Overall, both pathways contributed a large amount of dissolved carbon export to the coastal water, and play an important role in delivering terrestrial carbon across land-ocean interface. Evaluating the contributions of different pathways of SGD to terrestrial solutes will help to improve the accuracy of SGD associated terrestrial solute fluxes.