A review on global status of fresh and saline groundwater discharge into the ocean

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is the groundwater flow from land to the sea across the seabed, and it includes both terrane freshwater and recirculated seawater in the sub-surface. This review (i) systematically evaluates findings of various quantification methodologies, (ii) examines the estimated SGD in scientific publications between 2000 and 2020, and (iii) quantitatively evaluates current situation of coastal zone management through the bibliometric analysis of research papers. Apart from enhancing the shortage of groundwater resources in coastal area, the SGD brings nutrients (nitrate and phosphate), toxic heavy metals, and organic compounds, and thus contaminate the seawater. Therefore, the improved understanding about location and quantity of global SGD is essential to conserve the coastal and ocean ecosystems.