Abstract
The Jinan spring basin is located in the karst area of northern China, where springs serve as important sources of water supply. Several studies on spring protection and water supply have been carried out, and scholars have developed some laws on local groundwater flow dynamic and characteristics of aquifer structures. Unfortunately, there is a lack of detailed research on preferential recharge zones, which are the main recharge pathways of springs. Therefore, this research focuses on identifying preferential recharge zones based on the correlation between the spring level and precipitation. The results show that when precipitation is more intense or lasts longer, there is a stronger correlation between spring level and precipitation. It has been established that the precipitation at Donghongmiao station has the closest relationship with the dynamic of Baotu spring, which is found to be the most significant contribution to spring preservation. Two potential preferential recharge zones in the Jinan spring basin are detected through correlation analysis and geological exploration data. These findings support spring protection and water supply projects in karst regions.
Highlights
Several complex voids are created in aquifers as a result of the dissolution of carbonate rocks by water flow, such as fissures, conduits and caves, which are favorable for the storage and movement of freshwater, leading to the heterogeneity and vulnerability of karst aqueous mediums [1,2,3,4]
The results of correlation between the spring level and precipitation based on different statistical methods indicate that the precipitations of some gauge stations are truly more relevant to the spring level than those of other stations in the spring basin, which suggests that the precipitations of these stations recharge groundwater more effectively, implying that these areas have a high degree of karst development and can be recognized as preferential recharge zones
The rank of Pearson correlation coefficients (Table 2) shows that one factor influencing the correlation between the spring level and precipitation is the distance of the underground channel between two sites, which depends on the degree of karstification rather than the surface distance
Summary
Several complex voids are created in aquifers as a result of the dissolution of carbonate rocks by water flow, such as fissures, conduits and caves, which are favorable for the storage and movement of freshwater, leading to the heterogeneity and vulnerability of karst aqueous mediums [1,2,3,4]. China has a massive karst region with complex karst landforms, and a quarter of its groundwater resources are distributed in karst areas, some of which typically emerge as springs [5]. The Jinan spring basin in northern China is a typical karst aqueous system, where springs serve as major discharge points of groundwater [6,7]. Springs are an indispensable source of water supply, and help to preserve the water ecosystem of Spring City, Jinan. The continuous extraction of groundwater resources coupled with city construction and socio-economic development has destroyed the natural water balance of the Jinan karst aquifer system [8]. Spring protection and water supply engineering have been a crucial livelihood issue of great concerned to the government, and they have emerged as essential and demanding areas for hydrogeologists to investigate
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