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IMAGE: Coastal groundwater discharge can sometimes be seen at low tide as rivulets flowing into the ocean, as on this beach on Oahu. A global assessment found groundwater discharge plays a. view more
Credit: Jenny Bernier
An invisible flow of groundwater seeps into the ocean along coastlines all over the world. Scientists have tended to disregard its contributions to ocean chemistry, focusing on the far greater volumes of water and dissolved material entering the sea from rivers and streams, but a new study finds groundwater discharge plays a more significant role than had been thought.
The new findings, published January 8 in