Spatiotemporal estimation of fresh submarine groundwater discharge across the coastal shorelines of Oahu Island, Hawaii

The integrated hydrological model is a powerful tool that is used to assess the temporal distribution of fresh groundwater discharge especially in coastal areas. The coastal regions of Hawaii are exemplary instances of crucial natural resources for the Hawaiian economy and general ecological health. To fully comprehend the intricate interactions between coastal hydrology processes and ecosystems, it is necessary to evaluate the fresh submarine groundwater discharge (FSGD) at the Heeia shoreline using an integrated hydrological modeling technique. Under steady-state settings, the results showed that the present daily average of FSGD is around 0.43 m(3)/days across 1 m of the shoreline. However, we showed up that the FSGD values were considerably impacted by climate change, sea level increase, groundwater head of the coastal aquifer, recharge rate, and sea level rise, particularly by the end of the 21st century. The post-development FSGD fluxes were 1.5-3.5 times greater than the freshwater transported to the Kaneohe Bay by the Heeia stream, demonstrating the considerable contribution of the FSGD to the coastal zones of Heeia. The results also showed an exponential association between the FSGD and the groundwater level head for the coastal unconfined aquifer.

Automated summary

The integrated hydrological model is utilized to understand the temporal distribution of fresh groundwater discharge and its impact on coastal areas. The coastal regions of Hawaii play a vital role in the economy and ecology of the state. The study focuses on evaluating the fresh submarine groundwater discharge at the Heeia shoreline using the integrated hydrological modeling technique, taking into account various factors such as climate change and sea level rise.