ZMT - Leibniz Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung

3.11.16 | ZMT scientist Dr Nils Moosdorf will be among five international scientists on submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) giving a keynote talk at a European Parliament Science Briefing "Groundwater-Sea Interaction: Challenges for coastal ecosystem management". The meeting takes place at the European in Brussels on November 8 and was initiated by ZMT in cooperation with the Konsortium Deutsche Meeresforschung (KDM).

Experts from Spain, Australia, France, Germany, Ireland and Spain will explain the relevance of submarine groundwater discharge for European legislation from their specific viewpoints to inform the European administration about the hidden connection between groundwater and sea.

While other speakers will talk about water resources, eutrophication in different coastal settings or implications for aquaculture, Dr. Moosdorf will focus on the implications of submarine groundwater discharge in tropical regions and under global change.

“The groundwater-seawater interface, which is very sensitive to water level changes, will react strongly to any perturbation of the system, for example due to coastal groundwater pumping or sea level rise,” he says. “This could mean the drying up of coastal springs whose effect on ecosystems and social systems have not yet been understood. In addition, nutrients, for example from farming activities, can be transported though groundwater into the ocean and cause eutrophication of the sensitive coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs.”

The Science Briefing will summarize the latest knowledge regarding the potential impact of submarine groundwater discharge on ecosystems. What are the impacts of SGD on society, and what is its relevance for European water and marine framework directives?

November 8, 2016, 12.30 am – 2.30 pm
European Parliament – Salon in the Members’ Restaurant

Welcoming remarks
Joachim Schuster, MEP

Opening presentation
Alice Aureli, Chief of Section, Groundwater Systems and Settlements, International Hydrological Programme, UNESCO

Science Keynote Presentations
Ester Garcia Solsona, Department of Earth and Ocean Dynamics, University of Barcelona, Spain
Thomas Stieglitz, ANR Chair of Excellence, European Centre for Teaching and Research in Geosciences CEREGE, France and Oceanography Research Group – TropWATER, James Cook University, Australia
Carlos Rocha, Associate Professor in Environmental Change, Biogeochemistry Research Group, Department of Geography, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Nils Moosdorf, Leader of Working Group Submarine Groundwater Discharge, Department of Geochemistry/Geology, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Germany

Discussion with Speakers and Participating Experts:
Moderation: Michael Böttcher Head, Geochemistry & Isotope Biogeochemistry Group, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Germany