Karst Drainage System Research Articles

Assessing karst landscape degradation based on the void development of karst aquifers in Gunungsewu, Indonesia

Compared to other landforms, karst areas are among those emerging from the dissolution process that have a higher risk of land degradation. The likelihood of karst landforms being harmed is increased by urbanization and other human activities like extensive agriculture. Subsurface streams' water quality gets worse when surface pollutants infiltrate through developed karst features like sinkholes and karst ponors. There is a greater risk of land degradation as more karst features, in this case void size, develop. The purpose of this research is to assess how void development, or the degree of karstification, relates to the potential for karst spring pollution in the event that land degradation occurs on the surface of the Karst Drainage System (KDS). This research was conducted at the KDS of Beton and Gremeng Spring in the Gunungsewu karst area, Indonesia. In addition, this study also provides recommendations related to environmental management on the basis of the level of development of voids at both sites. The degree of karstification represents the phase at which a hydrogeological system has been developing, and this information was later considered in formulating strategies for protecting karst groundwater from contamination. The results show that Beton and Gremeng had a complex discharge regime with degrees of karstification at 8 and 5.5, respectively. Based on flood hydrograph components, it was further confirmed that both areas were in the mature phase. The higher the degree of karstification, the higher the vulnerability to pollution.

Morphometric analysis using geographical information system techniques in serpeng and sumurup watersheds

Serpeng and Sumurup are allogeneic rivers in Wonosari’s basin, which derive water to Gunungsewu karst drainage system. The river flow characteristics of their allogeneic system are influenced by the watershed and weather conditions of the area. In addition, quantitative morphometry plays an important role in hydrological processes with remote sensing and geospatial techniques used to carry out a morphometric analysis. SRTM (DEM) was an efficient tool for extracting morphometric parameters. The watershed of the Sumurup river was much wider, and covers a total area of 42.80 km2, with a length of the main river being 21.44 km, while the Serpeng watershed covers an area of 10.58 km2 and length of the main river has 8.85 km. However, morphometry of the drainage density of both of them was classified on a medium category which indicates the basin is moderate permeability and has susceptible to flooding and erosion process. The highest order of Sumurup river has 4th level stream orders with has an elongated shape and Serpeng has 3rd level stream orders with an oval shape. Comparative analysis of watershed in the allogenic system could represent the geomorphological expression on the spatiotemporal variation of hydrology behavior of both rivers.

Development and implementation of virtual field teaching resources: two karst geomorphology modules and three virtual capstone pathways

Abstract. During the summer of 2020, many geology field camps were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the karst geomorphology field course I was scheduled to co-teach through Western Kentucky University. When the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT), in collaboration with the International Association for Geoscience Diversity (IAGD), began the project of supporting working groups to create online field experience teaching materials, this presented an opportunity. This paper describes the development of two activities derived from that field camp curriculum that are now freely available as peer-reviewed exemplary teaching activities on the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) Online Field Experiences repository under “Karst hydrogeology: a virtual field introduction using © Google Earth and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)” and “Karst hydrogeology: a virtual field experience using © Google Earth, GIS, and TAK [Topographic Analysis Kit].” Each product includes a student handout, an instructor workflow reference, a grading rubric, and NAGT-established learning objectives. The introductory activity is the more basic of the two, is expected to take about an 8 h workday to teach, and walks students through all the steps, as well as providing global examples of karst landscapes that can be virtually explored. The other activity, “Karst hydrogeology and geomorphology”, assumes student familiarity with © Google Earth, GIS, and karst drainage systems and is expected to take about twice as long as the introductory activity to teach. To make these learning opportunities financially accessible, all software required for the activities is open source, and alternative workflows for the introductory module are provided so that the entire exercise can be completed using a mobile device. Addressing this need for virtual capstone options during the pandemic, and providing a virtual alternative for years to come, these karst activities, along with a subset of other SERC activities, were assembled into three learning tracks, each one providing learning hours equivalent to a traditional field camp, that have been added to the course offerings at the University of Cincinnati Department of Geology. In addition to providing online capstone activities in the time of a pandemic, these learning materials provide alternative experiences to traditional field camps that are inclusive for all geoscience students.

Three-dimensional seismic geomorphology and analysis of the Ordovician paleokarst drainage system in the central Tabei Uplift, northern Tarim Basin, western China

High-quality three-dimensional seismic data acquired in the central Tabei Uplift, Tarim Basin, western China, provide a rare opportunity to characterize in exceptional detail the three-dimensional geomorphology of a deeply buried (5500–6500 m [18,045–21,325 ft]) Ordovician unconformity and the related paleokarst drainage system. An integrated approach was applied that emphasized integration of seismic data with available conventional core, wireline logs, and age-equivalent outcrops. The exceptional quality of the seismic data allowed a seismic detection limit of karstified features of less than 75 75 m (246 246 ft) horizontally and 6 m (20 ft) vertically. Interpreted geomorphologic and depositional elements include fluvial channels and canyons, fluvial valleys, sinkholes, and tower karsts and hills. The modern tower karst-drainage system in Guilin, China, is very similar to the mapped Ordovician karst-drainage system and is used as a modern analog. The interaction between the surface karst-drainage system and the shallow-subsurface cave-passage system is evidenced by the observation that surface canyons appear to initiate in areas associated with intense sinkhole development. Also, surface river valleys tend to correspond to dip-oriented surface depressions partly related to near-surface cave collapse. During burial into the deeper subsurface, the combination of intrastratal collapse (karstified strata) and suprastratal collapse (postkarst-deposited strata) created large damage zones hundreds of meters thick and kilometers wide. Coalesced-collapsed paleocave systems can be interpreted from the unique circular pattern of faults (observed in map view) that are associated with seismic bright spots.

Heavy metals in the Ljubljanica catchment area (Slovenia)

In main springs and swallowholes of the Ljubljanica River Basin the monitoring of heavy metals was established at the beginning of 2005 with the intention to study the solute transport in the water body and to analyse the risk of contamination with heavy metals. The results of the first monitoring phase are presented - elements that indicate the load of environment due to industry, traffic, agriculture and urbanisation: Al, As, Cd, Cl, Cr, Cu, Mn in Pb. The results point out that the vulnerability of karst aquifers depends on aquifer hydrodynamic conditions, infiltration conditions and development of a karst drainage system. Furthermore, they indicated the local and regional geochemical and hydrogeological characteristics and enable to evidence the main processes and effects that impact on environmental changes.

Rainfall–runoff relations for karstic springs. Part II: continuous wavelet and discrete orthogonal multiresolution analyses

Karstic watersheds appear as highly non-linear and non-stationary systems. The main focus of this paper is a heuristic study of this non-stationarity using a time-scale localisation method called the wavelet transform. First, a mathematical overview of these analysis methods is given. The wavelet transform methods used here can be divided into two main parts: the continuous Morlet wavelet transform and the multiresolution orthogonal analysis. A statistical interpretation of the wavelet coefficients is also presented, introducing wavelet spectrum analyses (univariate and cross-wavelet analyses). These wavelet methods are applied to rainfall rates and runoffs measured at different sampling rates, from daily to half-hourly sampling rate. The karstic springs under study are located in the Pyrénées Mountains (Ariège, France) and in the Causses of Larzac (Aveyron, France). They are first applied to a pumping and a naturally intermittent runoff process, allowing the separation of different sub-processes. Wavelet analyses of rainfall rates and runoffs and wavelet rainfall–runoff cross-analyses also give meaningful information on the temporal variability of the rainfall–runoff relationship. In particular, this kind of analysis provides a simple interpretation of the distribution of energy between the different scales. Finally, it is demonstrated that wavelet transforms make possible a physical explanation of the temporal structure of the basin response to rainfall allowing discrimination between a rapid response and recharge due to the karst drainage system and a slower one corresponding to infiltration response.

Bacteria in the Castleton Karst, Derbyshire, England

Abstract The Castleton area contains an extensive and complex karst drainage system. Recharge is provided by allogenic stream sinks and by infiltration into a soil covered autogenic catchment. Concentrations of the sanitary indicator bacteria faecal coliform (FC) were measured weekly over a 84-week period at three stream-sinks (P6, P7 and P8) and at two contrasting springs (Russet Well and Peak Cavern Rising). Russet Well drains the allogenic catchment, but also receives some autogenic recharge whereas Peak Cavern Rising receives only autogenic recharge except at high stage when it functions as an overflow spring for the Russet Well system. Over the year as a whole and during each three-month season, median FC concentrations at P6 were significantly higher than at Russet Well. The difference was greatest during summer/autumn and was lowest in winter/spring and it appears that FC concentrations at the rising are a complex function of faecal inputs and flow through time. The relationship between FC concentrations at Russet Well and at Peak Cavern Rising proved to be complex. Over the sampling period as a whole and during the spring and autumn there was no significant difference between median FC concentrations at the two risings; during the winter, when discharge was highest, median FC concentrations at Russet Well were significantly higher than at Peak Cavern Rising; and during the summer FC concentrations at Peak Cavern Rising were significantly higher than at Russet Well. The high FC concentrations in the sinking streams and at the risings suggest that there could be a health risk to cavers, especially during storm events and the summer. Furthermore, the fact that the waters from both springs contain significant concentrations of FC bacteria indicates that even soil covered karst systems are unable to filter out potentially harmful micro-organisms.

Geochemistry of the Obey River Basin, north-central Tennessee: a case of acid mine water in a karst drainage system : Sasowsky, I D; White, W B J HydrolV146, N1/4, June 1993, P29–48

Geochemistry of the Obey River Basin, north-central Tennessee: a case of acid mine water in a karst drainage system : Sasowsky, I D; White, W B J HydrolV146, N1/4, June 1993, P29–48

Geochemistry of the Obey River Basin, north-central Tennessee: a case of acid mine water in a karst drainage system

The East Fork of the Obey River, a tributary of the Cumberland River, drains a 523 km 2 basin along the western margin of the Cumberland Plateau. The upper basin lies on clastic rocks that include coals that were mined earlier in this century. The lower basin is drained through a deep gorge where the East Fork has cut downward into the Mississippian carbonate rocks. The lower basin is karstic, with a 9 km length of the river and most of its tributaries underdrained by conduit systems. Many of the upper basin tributaries of the East Fork are contaminated by acid mine drainage and have high levels of acidity, sulfate, iron, and aluminum. As the acid mine waters sink in the limestone portions of the basin, they are buffered but acidity is not rapidly reduced and acid waters appear at a large spring deep in the karst having survived 5 km of transport. Sulfate waters gradually convert to bicarbonate waters as more tributaries from carbonate rocks enter the system. Aluminum in solution decreases with increasing pH, and precipitates as colloidal sized particles. Although alkalinity increases in the lower reaches of the basin, most of the waters remain highly undersaturated with respect to calcite.

Karst geomorphology and hydrology

List of tables. Introduction to karst. The karst rocks. Dissolution chemical and kinetic behaviour of the karst rock. Distribution and rate of karst denudation. Karst hydrology. Analysis of karst drainage systems. Cave systems. Cave interior deposits. Karst landform development in humid regions. The influence of climate, climatic change and other environmental factors on karst development. Karst resources, their exploitation and management. References. Index.

Geomorphology and hydrology of karst terrains

Karst terrains - irregular limestone regions characterized by sinkholes, underground streams and caverns - have long been of interest because of the dramatic landscapes and the challenge of cave exploration. But the geomorphology and hydrology of karst drainage systems are now of interest to water supply specialists, urban planners, and environmental engineers. This graduate-level text discusses the chemistry of karst waters, the processes of sedimentary in-filling, the origins of caves, and the evolution of karst systems through geologic time. Since karst develops predominently by chemical processes, this text is written from the point of view of the chemistry of limestone solution. The approach is more quantitive and process-oriented than that of existing textbooks, and the author includes material on environmental problems in karst regions, including land use and land management, water supply, and pollution control.

Karst development and the distribution of karst drainage systems in Dejiang, Guizhou Province, China

The nature of karstification of two contrasting areas on the north Guizhou Plateau (south China) is shown to be controlled by structure, lithology, geomorphic history and tectonics, and causes significant differences to arise in the subsurface drainage systems of the areas. The Shaqi area lies in a syncline of Permo-Triassic limestones underlain by an insoluble sandy shale which forms the local base level. Karst landforms are strongly influenced by the presence of four erosion levels corresponding to four periods of rejuvenation of the drainage systems. Drainage is concentrated along the syncline axis, and one system (Naoshuiyan) has been pirating another (Lengshuiyan) by headward retreat. Cave passages are typically phreatic. The Dejiang Town area lies in an anticline of Cambrian dolomite and Ordovician limestone. Three large subsurface drainage systems have developed along parallel faults, and have typically vadose cross-sections.

Solution of marble in the karst of the Pikikiruna range, Northwest Nelson, New Zealand

The paper reports the first research on karst solution processes and rates in New Zealand. The study area is an IHD representative basin in the northwest corner of the South Island in a mountain range consisting principally of Ordovician marble. The climate is sunny and warm (17°C) in summer and wet and cool (7°C) in winter. Average precipitation is 2,158 mm of which 525 mm evapotranspires, yielding a discharge of 51–75 l/s/km2 in the river basin studied. Almost half of the catchment of 45.1 km2 consists of karst which occurs mainly as a doline covered plateau at 600–900 m within which most drainage is subterranean. Water tracing is with fluorescein defined drainage patterns. Marble solution was established by estimating inputs, throughputs and outputs of water and dissolved calcium and magnesium in both autogenic and allogenic karst drainage systems. Particular attention was paid to estimating errors. Water samples for chemical analysis were taken irregularly for approximately one year, and a rating curve relating chemical load to discharge was established. The best estimate of solution loss from the basin yields a mean rate of 100 ±M24 m3/km2/a. Of this 80 per cent is derived from solution of marble by autogenic waters, mostly in the top 10–30 m of the marble outcrop. The remaining 20 per cent is accomplished by allogenic stream solution. Approximately 9.9 per cent of the dissolved calcium and magnesium load leaving the basin originates from non-karst rocks and 4.6 per cent is initially introduced by rainfall. River flows that are exceeded only 5 per cent of the time transport approximately 44 per cent of the annual dissolved load, while mean to low flows that occur for 75 per cent of the time transport 35 per cent of the annual solute load. This confirms the importance of low frequency-high magnitude events, but indicates also that in corrosion systems high frequency events of moderate to low magnitude can also accomplish significant work.

Zinc Deposits Related to Diagenesis and Intrakarstic Sedimentation in the Lower Ordovician St. George Formation, Western Newfoundland

ABSTRACT Sphalerite mineralization in the Lower Ordovician St. George Formation occurs in a white dolomite pseudobreccia confined to a unit of dolomite-mottled limestone and dolomite. This section is interbedded dolomite-mottled biointrapelsparite and dolomitized micrite deposited in two cyclically alternating epeiric environments. A transitional shallowing phase produced the overlying 50 ft (15 m) thick dolomitized biomicrite. An alternation between very shallow marine and sabkha depositional environments produced the next 200 ft (61 m) of preserved section -- a succession of incomplete cyclic units, bounded by diastems. A typical cyclic unit proceeds through breccias, dololaminite or argillaminite, and mottled bioturbated dolomite, to massive, fine-grained dolomite. This over-all progression of depositional environments, from the marine to the subaerial, culminated near the end of Early Ordovician time with the sedimentary pile being uplifted at least 300 ft (92 m) above baselevel. Because of this uplift, caves developed in the limestone into which carbonate residues and detrital, dolomite-rich pisolitic sediment overlain by collapse breccias were deposited. Adjacent to caves, the calcite among the interdolomite mottle in the dolomitic limestone was dissolved, leaving an open network of undissolved dolomite network. In these areas of greatest porosity, sphalerite was deposited in colloform fashion about the mottle nuclei. A return to over-all subsidence caused marine inundation of the karst drainage system and the remaining open spaces were filled with white, coarsely crystalline dolomite. When marine flooding reached the uppermost erosion surface, deposition of the earliest Middle Ordovician Table Head sediments began. Two models for Zn precipitation can be suggested for this paleohydrologic system: 1) mobilization of 10 to 50 ppm Zn from host-rock carbonates by meteoric waters, and precipitation downstream at the interface with formation fluids; 2) precipitation of Zn by meteoric water dilution of upward-welling, Zn-rich formational chloride brines. End_Page 393------------------------ Newfoundland Zinc Mines location map. End_Page 394------------------------

Mass balance and spectral analysis applied to Karst hydrologie networks

Underground karst drainage systems can be studied by the input‐output relations of rivers that flow through them. First, tracers enable the quantity of water at a sink that flows to a specific spring, and the fraction of a given spring derived from a sink, to be calculated. Second, when these methods are not applicable, cross‐covariance and cross‐spectral transfer function analysis can be used to examine input‐output stage records. These give information about the vadose and/or phreatic nature of the system. An inaccessible karst drainage system in western Alberta has a tracer flow‐through time of +80 to +130 hours and a positively skewed cross covariance of +70 to +124 hours; therefore the cave is not completely water filled. Additional unknown inputs are substantiated by a negatively peaking cross covariance.