A combined field and modeling study of groundwater flow in a tidal marsh

Abstract. Bald mud beaches were found among the mangrove marshes in Dongzhaigang National Nature Reserve, Hainan, China. To investigate the possible reasons for this phenomenon, the intertidal zones of a mangrove transect and a bald beach transect with similar topography and same tidal actions were selected for comparison study. Along both transects, observed water table variations were significant in the high and low intertidal zones and negligible in the middle intertidal zones. Field investigations and observations invite two speculations: (1) existence of a high-permeability zone on each transect which underlies the low-permeability surface mud sediments and outcrops in the high intertidal zone, and (2) considerable inland freshwater recharge along the mangrove transect but negligible freshwater recharge along the bald beach transect. Two-dimensional numerical simulations based on these speculations gave results in line with the observed water table. The bald beach is most probably due to the lack of enough freshwater for generating a brackish beach soil condition essential to mangrove growth. It is also indicated that seawater infiltrated the high-permeability zone through its outcrop near the high intertidal zone, and discharged from the tidal river bank in the vicinity of the low tide line, thereby forming a tide-induced seawater-groundwater circulation which may provide considerable contribution to the total submarine groundwater discharge.