Abstract
Nutrient input through submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) often plays a significant role in primary productivity and nutrient cycling in the coastal areas. Understanding relationships between SGD and topo-hydrological and geo-environmental characteristics of upstream zones is essential for sustainable development in these areas. However, these important relationships have not yet been completely explored using data-mining approaches, especially in arid and semi-arid coastal lands. Here, Landsat 8 thermal sensor data were used to identify potential sites of SGD at a regional scale. Relationships between the remotely-sensed sea surface temperature (SST) patterns and geo-environmental variables of upland watersheds were analyzed using logistic regression model for the first time. The accuracy of the predictions was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) metric. A highly accurate model, with the AUC-ROC of 96.6%, was generated. Moreover, the results indicated that the percentage of karstic lithological formation and topographic wetness index were key variables influencing SGD phenomenon and spatial distribution in the northern coastal areas of the Persian Gulf. The adopted methodology and applied metrics can be transferred to other coastal regions as a rapid assessment procedure for SGD site detection. Moreover, the results can help planners and decision-makers to develop efficient environmental management strategies and the design of comprehensive sustainable development policies.
Highlights
To facilitate a context-based inter-comparison of temperature anomalies, a standardized temperature anomaly (STA) map can reveal the relative significance of the anomalies observed at different locations
Discernible cold-water plumes emanate from nearshore waters along Naiband, Asaloye, Dopalango, Dahane Tahmadan, Khorkhan, and Bandar Busher coastlines
Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) as a significant component of the water cycle is important in the management of coastal areas, mostly in arid and semi-arid regions where water scarcity is a serious issue
Summary
Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) is defined as any water subsurface flow from the land into the sea. Recognizing the area having this flow is very important for hydrological and ecological studies. SGD is an important pathway from the terrestrial to the marine environment that plays a significant role in hydrological and ecological processes such as: nutrient cycling, geochemical mass balances, and primary productivity in the coastal waters [1,2]. The importance of SGD as a source of nutrients, carbon and trace metals to coastal waters in water resources management and marine ecology has become increasingly recognized [3,4,5,6]. SGD has important impacts on variables such as water
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