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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 33, L24405, doi:10.1029/2006GL028282, 2006

Combined time-series resistivity and geochemical tracer techniques to examine submarine groundwater discharge at Dor Beach, Israel

P. W. Swarzenski

U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA


W. C. Burnett

Department of Oceanography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA


W. J. Greenwood

ETI, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA


B. Herut

Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Haifa, Israel


R. Peterson

Department of Oceanography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA


N. Dimova

Department of Oceanography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA


Y. Shalem

Department of Geography and Environment, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel


Y. Yechieli

Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel


Y. Weinstein

Department of Geography and Environment, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel


Abstract

A high-resolution, stationary geophysical and geochemical survey was conducted at Dor Beach, Israel, to examine the shallow coastal hydrogeology and its control on the exchange of submarine groundwater with the shallow Mediterranean Sea. Time-series resistivity profiles using a new 56 electrode (112-m long) marine cable produced detailed profiles of the fresh water/salt water interface and the subtle response of this interface to tidal excursions and other forcing factors. Such information, when ground-truthed with representative pore water salinities and formation resistivity values, can provide unique information of the extent and rates of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). Time-series 222Rn measurements of the adjacent coastal water column complemented these geophysical techniques and were modeled to yield integrated advective flow rates across the sediment/water interface, which at Dor Beach ranged from about 0 to 30 cm day−1 (mean = 7.1 cm d−1), depending on the tidal range. Such results suggest that the underlying hydrogeologic framework at Dor is favorable for substantial SGD. Extrapolating these SGD estimates across a 100-m wide coastal zone implies that the Rn-derived SGD rate would equal ∼7.1 m3 d−1 per m of shoreline, and that the source of this discharging groundwater is a complex mixture of fresh groundwater derived from the upland Kurkar deposits, as well as locally recycled seawater.

Received 27 September 2006; accepted 13 November 2006; published 23 December 2006.

Keywords: coastal groundwater exchange; electrical resistivity; Rn-222.

Index Terms: 0925 Exploration Geophysics: Magnetic and electrical methods (5109); 1830 Hydrology: Groundwater/surface water interaction; 1872 Hydrology: Time series analysis (3270, 4277, 4475); 4536 Oceanography: Physical: Hydrography and tracers.

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Citation: Swarzenski, P. W., W. C. Burnett, W. J. Greenwood, B. Herut, R. Peterson, N. Dimova, Y. Shalem, Y. Yechieli, and Y. Weinstein (2006), Combined time-series resistivity and geochemical tracer techniques to examine submarine groundwater discharge at Dor Beach, Israel, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L24405, doi:10.1029/2006GL028282.