DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF AN ULTRASONIC GROUNDWATER SEEPAGE METER

Submarine groundwater discharge can influence significantly the near-shore transport and flux of chemicals into the oceans. Quantification of the sources and rates of such discharge requires a groundwater seepage meter that provides continuous measurements at high resolution over an extended period of time. An ultrasonic flow meter has been adapted for such measurements in the submarine environment. Connected to a steel collection funnel, the meter houses two piezoelectric transducers mounted at opposite ends of a cylindrical flow tube. By monitoring the perturbations of fluid flow on the propagation of sound waves inside the flow tube, the ultrasonic meter can measure both forward and reverse fluid flows in real time. Laboratory and field calibrations show that the ultrasonic meter can resolve groundwater discharges on the order of 10^-5 cm/s, and it is sufficiently robust for deployment in the field for several days. The meter is usually installed in fresh groundwater discharge zones delineated by electrical conductivity profiling. Data from West Neck Bay, Shelter Island, New York elucidate the temporal and spatial heterogeneity of submarine groundwater discharge and its interplay with tidal loading. A negative correlation between the discharge and tidal elevation was generally observed. A methodology was also developed whereby data for the sound velocity as a function of temperature can be used to infer the salinity and source of the submarine discharge. Independent measurements of electrical conductance were performed to validate this methodology. This meter has also been deployed as part of an international groundwater seepage intercomparison experiment with Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) / Land-Ocean Interaction in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) Working Group 112. Results are in good agreement with other methodologies developed to quantify submarine groundwater discharge.