Spring water resources in the Tatra Mountains

Abstract

The Tatra Mountains stand out as the wettest and most water-rich region in Poland. Despite this, limited studies addressed this issue, and current knowledge largely relies on data obtained in the mid-20th century, with a substantial lack of current estimates. This study aims to fill this gap by evaluating the contemporary water resources of springs in the Tatra Mountains. The study bases on the most recent hydrological mapping of 1,018 springs. The spring resources were evaluated using parameters such as the number of springs, specific runoff, and crenological index, analysed across different physiographic regions, tectonic units, and altitudinal zones. Our studies showed that the highest number of springs occurs in the Western Tatras (66%) between 1000 and 1400 m a.s.l., especially within the Sub-Tatric unit. Springs with discharges ranging from 0.1–1.0 dm3∙s−1 constitute approximately 70% of all springs but they contribute to only 8.1% of spring water resources. Total spring discharge amounted to 2726 dm3∙s−1 and was higher in the Western Tatras (1982.5 dm3∙s−1 than in the High Tatras (743.5 dm3∙s−1 . The specific runoff amounted to 12.9 dm3∙s−1 m−2 with the highest total runoff at altitudes occupied by the most abundant karst springs (1000–1100 m a.s.l.). The crenological index amounted to 4.8 springs∙km−2 and was higher in the Western Tatras (6.5 springs∙km−2) than in the High Tatras (4.9 springs∙kmup−2) . The analysis revealed that the only five largest karst springs, constituting a mere 0.5% of all springs, account for 65% of spring water resources in the Tatras.