Abstract
As a specific type of landscape and aquifer, karst is developed in soluble carbonate and evaporitic rocks and is of great importance for humanity. It covers more than 15% of Earth’s ice-free land and its aquifers provide about 10% of the world population’s drinking water. However, in general, its importance is not adequately supported by monitoring. Due to very dynamic karst regimes, in many countries, monitoring networks and their technology must be enlarged and improved, in terms of both the quantity and quality of water. The article discusses the current state of monitoring in legislation and water practice, as well as its importance in preventing water pollution, ensuring water provision to dependent ecosystems and preparing adaptation strategies to mitigate the negative effects of climate changes. Karst aquifers’ heterogeneity, high vulnerability to pollution and their very dynamic regimes require a more frequent observation of discharge and water quality parameters than any other aquifer system. There is also a need for installing sophisticated monitoring equipment, which enables remote observation of changes in dynamic karst systems. Improving monitoring and creating an early warning system would have a direct and positive effect on water management and might also be able to prevent uncontrolled groundwater extraction and deterioration of water quality.
Highlights
IntroductionHigh groundwater velocity has been confirmed by numerous tracing experiments conducted in many karst regions [8,9]
Karst aquifers are the second-ranked groundwater source used for potable water supply
None of the five focal areas imposed for groundwater management explicitly identifies monitoring, it is closely attributed to some of them
Summary
High groundwater velocity has been confirmed by numerous tracing experiments conducted in many karst regions [8,9]. It is caused by high porosity and well-developed channels in karstified rocks. Such hydrogeological settings are the reason why karst aquifers are characterised by a low attenuation capacity and are highly vulnerable to pollution. Many methods have been developed in water practice to assess their intrinsic vulnerability. Methods such as DRASTIC [10] or EPIK [11] are just some of those that are applied the most in water management practice
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
