Bio
Dr. Debbie-Ann Gordon-Smith is a Lecturer in Environmental and Analytical Chemistry at The University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. Her research is focused on the investigation of chemical contaminants in Jamaica’s fresh and marine waters and the impact of these contaminants on aquatic environments. This work involves the study of the sources and flow of surface and groundwaters, water pollution studies and the investigation of submarine groundwater discharge to coastal environments, incorporating water quality analyses as well as, stable and radioactive isotopic measurements.
Dr. Gordon-Smith’s research group includes a team of multidisciplinary, multicultural and multinational researchers, supported by a cadre of undergraduate and postgraduate students, working out of a well-equipped Water Research Laboratory. Her work is published in various local and international journals including a recent book chapter in Global Groundwater: Source, Scarcity, Sustainability, Security and Solutions.
Dr. Gordon-Smith has a keen interest in investigating the effects of climate change on tropical marine water chemistry and was appointed to the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON) Executive Council and Co-Chair of its Caribbean Regional Hub in November 2023.
Abstract
Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) has been shown to be an important pathway for the transport of chemical species from coastal aquifers and contribute to material exchange at the land-sea interface in coastal ecosystems. SGD is defined as any water flowing out across the sea floor or submerged land-ocean interface and may be comprised of either fresh groundwater, recirculated seawater or a combination of both. SGD is now known to be fairly ubiquitous in coastal marine environments, but discharges often occur with significant spatial and temporal variability, especially in areas dominated by conduit flows such as in karstic regions. As a result, the measurement of SGD and associated chemical fluxes can be a difficult exercise and may require the use of multiple methods. Like other karstic islands, the detection and measurement of SGD along the coast of Jamaica is challenging due to the patchy nature of the discharge, the depths at which some discharge points are located (>20 m), and the availability of limited resources. For some time, the naturally occurring radioactive isotope radon-222 has been used as a tracer for studying SGD, but several technical challenges may be experienced when applying the measurement methods, and there is limited data available for the coastal zones of many Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as Jamaica. This paper examines the use of the radon-222 as a tracer of submarine groundwater discharge at three coastal sites in Jamaica: Discovery Bay, East Portland Special Fisheries Conservation Area and Kingston Harbour. It highlights the challenges, strengths and weaknesses of applying conventional measurements of 222Rn at these sites, as well as possible solutions.
Keywords: coastal water, radon, submarine groundwater discharge, Jamaica