Articles | Volume 29, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-7127-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-7127-2025
Research article
 | 
12 Dec 2025
Research article |  | 12 Dec 2025

Field-scale modelling reveals dynamic groundwater flow and transport patterns in a high-energy subterranean estuary

Janek Greskowiak, Rena Meyer, Jairo Cueto, Nico Skibbe, Anja Reckhardt, Thomas Günther, Stephan L. Seibert, Kai Schwalfenberg, Dietmar Pommerin, Mike Müller-Petke, and Gudrun Massmann

Related authors

Effects of boundary conditions and aquifer parameters on salinity distribution and mixing-controlled reactions in high-energy beach aquifers
Rena Meyer, Janek Greskowiak, Stephan L. Seibert, Vincent E. Post, and Gudrun Massmann
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1469–1482, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1469-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1469-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Abarca, E., Karam, H., Hemond, H. F., and Harvey, C. F.: Transient groundwater dynamics in a coastal aquifer: The effects of tides, the lunar cycle, and the beach profile, Water Resources Research, 49, 2473–2488, https://doi.org/10.1002/wrcr.20075, 2013. 
Ahrens, J., Beck, M., Marchant, H. K., Ahmerkamp, S., Schnetger, B., and Brumsack, H.-J.: Seasonality of Organic Matter Degradation Regulates Nutrient and Metal Net Fluxes in a High Energy Sandy Beach, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 125, e2019JG005399, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JG005399, 2020. 
Anschutz, P., Smith, T., Mouret, A., Deborde, J., Bujan, S., Poirier, D., and Lecroart, P.: Tidal sands as biogeochemical reactors, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 84, 84–90, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2009.06.015, 2009. 
Anwar, N., Robinson, C., and Barry, D. A.: Influence of tides and waves on the fate of nutrients in a nearshore aquifer: Numerical simulations, Advances in Water Resources, 73, 203–213, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2014.08.015, 2014. 
Download
Short summary
Mixing of fresh groundwater and circulating seawater below beaches triggers water-rock chemical reactions and may affect coastal water quality. The subsurface of so-called high-energy beaches that are exposed to high tides, waves and storm floods are understudied as monitoring under these conditions is difficult. For the first time, this study quantifies the subsurface flow and mixing processes of a high-energy beach with the help of computer simulations based on an extensive set of field data.
Share