IAH TDM: Groundwater and coastal carbon dynamics

This talk examines how groundwater transports carbon and nutrients from terrestrial landscapes to coastal marine waters, shaping water chemistry and greenhouse gas emissions. Such groundwater-driven fluxes are often difficult to detect but can represent a significant overlooked component of coastal carbon budgets. A combination of radioactive tracers and stable isotopes is used to identify hidden groundwater flow pathways and to quantify associated solute fluxes along the land–ocean continuum. The findings highlight how geological structure and hydrological connectivity regulate groundwater-derived carbon and nutrient inputs to coastal ecosystems, with implications for coastal biogeochemistry and primary productivity