N0.5 Climate change impacts on SGD

The SGD-Climate Change subgroup is focused on understanding two-way interactions between submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and climate across past, present, and future conditions. The group is tackling how climate drivers such as changing precipitation, temperature, sea level rise, and extreme events can alter SGD fluxes and chemistry, and how SGD in turn affects coastal nutrients, ecosystems, and blue carbon. A key priority is to compile and reanalyze existing datasets (including repeated sampling at long-studied sites) to test whether climate-related trends can be detected beyond natural variability, and to use “space-for-time” and event analogs to anticipate future change. The subgroup also emphasizes the urgent need for a FAIR, open SGD database with strong metadata and QA/QC standards, and for a standardized long-term monitoring network with consistent methods and clear site responsibilities. Parallel efforts include developing proxy and mechanism-based models and advancing white paper and proposal activities to support coordinated funding and implementation.