Occurrence of submarine groundwater discharge (FSGD) in six embayments along the north coast of Jamaica

Fresh submarine groundwater discharge (FSGD) at the shoreline has been implicated as an important factor in the maintenance of coastal water quality and the sustenance of ecological goods and services. FSGD can be disproportionately large on oceanic, small island developing state (SIDS), like Jamaica, but developing countries may not be able to fund ideally developed FSGD sampling regimes. In order to provide a strategic road map for regulating and maintaining the quality of coastal ocean environments, the distribution of FSGD in Jamaica was explored using direct measurements with vented, benthic chambers, high-resolution aerial thermal infrared imagery (TIR), and naturally occurring radiometric tracers. FSGD was found to occur along the entire northern embayed coast of Jamaica both as submerged springs and as diffuse seepage at the shoreline.