Project Title: Groundwater controls on microbial communities in coastal aquifers
Date: 6/2019-6/2020
Principal Investigator(s): Dr. James Heiss
Affiliations: UMass Lowell
Summary: Groundwater discharge from the seabed into coastal ecosystems carries nutrients and other chemicals that affect surface water quality and ecosystem health. Microbial processing of groundwater contaminants prior to discharge alters the chemistry of discharging groundwater and can be an important ecosystem service that reduces nutrient fluxes that would otherwise contribute to coastal eutrophication. The objective of this research is to understand how microbial communities process nutrients and other chemicals in coastal aquifers. The work will aid managers aiming to reduce nutrient loads to surface water bodies. Groundwater wells, water quality sensors, and porewater sampling will provide information into how groundwater hydrology affects microorganisms in the subsurface and nutrient fluxes in discharging groundwater.
