Subterranean estuaries in the ría de Vigo: Hidden sources of solutes towards coastal waters
- Autores: Elisa Calvo Martin
- Directores de la Tesis: Juan Severino Pino Ibánhez (dir. tes.), Xosé Antón Álvarez Salgado (dir. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universidade de Vigo ( España ) en 2025
- Idioma: inglés
- Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Albert Folch Sancho (presid.), Beatriz Mouriño Carballido (secret.), Virginie Sanial (voc.)
- Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Marinas, Tecnología y Gestión por la Universidad de A Coruña; la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; la Universidad de Vigo; Universidade de Aveiro(Portugal); Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro(Portugal) y Universidade do Minho (Portugal)
- Materias:
- Enlaces
- Tesis en acceso abierto en: Investigo
- Resumen
The indiscriminate use of fertilizers in agriculture, together with industrial and urban sewage, are the origin of the widespread contamination of groundwaters with nitrate and other solutes. In the aquifers with a hydraulic connection with the coastal waters, nutrients are released via submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), which can alter the composition of coastal ecosystems and the services provided to humans. In SGD exit zones, groundwater and seawater meet underground, creating the so-called subterranean estuaries (STEs). STEs have high biogeochemical reactivity that can significantly amplify or reduce solute concentrations transported by SGD prior to discharge. This ability is especially important in the Ría de Vigo, where bivalve culture and extraction are dependent on the good environmental status of coastal waters. Moreover, climate change compromises the STEs, thus altering their ecosystemic services. The main objective of this PhD thesis is to evaluate the ecosystem services provided by STEs of the Ria de Vigo through the study of its biogeochemical reactivity and microbial community.
