Springs Basin Research Articles

Information asymmetry in the graph model of conflict resolution and its application to the sustainable water resource utilization conflict in Niangziguan Springs Basin

With the increasing consumption of global water resources, research on sustainable water resource utilization has become a topic of urgent interest. Despite the promulgation of policies and laws on the protection of water resources, the sustainable utilization and development of water resources in China are still far from reaching their initially established targets. This is partly explained by real-life conflicts that arise, in which different decision makers (DMs) possess different levels of professional knowledge, social status, and even power in contexts where the parties’ ability to leverage information varies greatly. Sustainable water resource utilization conflicts between the government and factories exemplify the impact of this information asymmetry on the relationship between DMs for the purposes of conflict resolution. In this paper, it is assumed that if one DM in a conflict has more information, their information advantage will affect the policy formation of the other DM. Thus, to analyze and resolve relevant problems, the concept of information asymmetry between two DMs is integrated into the basic structure of the graph model for conflict resolution (GMCR). According to the mathematical expression of the information asymmetry preferences of DMs, a set of information asymmetry stability definitions can be introduced to determine the stable state for each DM. The sustainable water resource utilization conflict in Niangziguan Springs Basin is used as an exemplar to confirm the effectiveness and correctness of the proposed method. Stability analysis shows that when the government implements strict environmental policies by leveraging more information, factories should adjust their preference relations to follow the rules and regulations to protect water resource in practice. Finally, comprehensive sustainable utilization and development of natural resource mechanisms must be implemented not only for these factories but also for other industries in China.

How do ambient conditions and management actions affect manatee movements and habitat use?

AbstractKings Bay in northwest Florida, USA, is an important winter home of the largest aggregation of Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), and the only location in the United States where visitors legally swim and interact with manatees. In addition to ambient conditions, visitors to the area and management actions have the potential to influence manatee behaviors. We tracked 32 manatees with satellite‐linked global position system (GPS) telemetry tags in Kings Bay from 2006 to 2018. Also, personnel at Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge collected manatee counts at Three Sisters Springs from 2014 to 2017. Our objectives were to document the use of springs and other habitat components in Kings Bay relative to ambient water temperature, time of day, tide stage, and management actions within Three Sisters Springs and other manatee sanctuaries in the bay. Manatees that we tagged in Kings Bay spent a median 87% of the winter within the local study area, compared to 47% for animals that we tagged in the Florida Panhandle. Manatees showed preferences for King and Magnolia springs basins at low tide, indicating that they function as tidal refuges, when other locations may be less accessible; we also recorded within spring basin movements. Magnolia Spring Basin showed a significant diel pattern overall, and within basins, King Spring, Tarpon Hole, and Three Sisters Springs were used more during the night than during the day. All areas outside Kings Bay were used more at warmer ambient gulf water temperatures, while all of the springs basins were used more when gulf temperature was colder, especially Three Sisters Springs Basin. Management of Three Sisters Springs had an influence on manatee use during times of cold ambient gulf water temperatures; manatees used the springs more when the spring was closed to visitors, versus when the springs were completely open or when the spring lobes alone were closed. Manatee decisions were consistent with avoiding human interactions.

Essential cryoglobulinemia: A case report

Excess phosphorus (P) loading due to anthropogenic activities has been identified as a primary cause of surface water eutrophication, but it is controversial whether P is a contributor to groundwater contamination. In this study, subsurface transport of P to groundwater and its environmental risk across different land uses was investigated in a karstic springs basin, Florida, USA. Eleven sites including 5 agricultural sites, 5 urban, and 1 pine plantation were selected. Boreholes were drilled to collect soils from surface, vadose zone, and aquifer at 0.6 m depth intervals. Water-extractable P (WSP), Mehlich 3-P, Al, and Fe, soil P storage capacity (SPSC), and P sorption isotherm parameters were obtained for soils from selected depths. We found that agricultural sites particularly horse farms, and urban sites with golf courses and septic tanks showed high risk of P leaching with TP concentrations in the groundwater above the numeric criteria for streams in the north central Florida (0.3 mg L−1). Besides land use which reflected P loadings in the surface soils, significant positive correlations of P sorption maximum (Smax) with M3-Fe, Al, and organic matter, and the precipitation of P by calcium bicarbonate, imply the mechanism regulating soil P attenuation in vadose and saturated zones, respectively. Negative SPSC values were significantly negatively correlated with WSP in all the zones, suggesting the applicability of SPSC in deep soils. Moreover, high TP concentration was observed in the groundwater at one site where the SPSC value changed from positive in the surface soils to negative in the subsoils, indicating that an additive SPSC value to water table would be more robust for evaluating the potential of P leaching before moving down to the limestone area.

Subsurface transport and potential risk of phosphorus to groundwater across different land uses in a karst springs basin, Florida, USA

Excess phosphorus (P) loading due to anthropogenic activities has been identified as a primary cause of surface water eutrophication, but it is controversial whether P is a contributor to groundwater contamination. In this study, subsurface transport of P to groundwater and its environmental risk across different land uses was investigated in a karstic springs basin, Florida, USA. Eleven sites including 5 agricultural sites, 5 urban, and 1 pine plantation were selected. Boreholes were drilled to collect soils from surface, vadose zone, and aquifer at 0.6 m depth intervals. Water-extractable P (WSP), Mehlich 3-P, Al, and Fe, soil P storage capacity (SPSC), and P sorption isotherm parameters were obtained for soils from selected depths. We found that agricultural sites particularly horse farms, and urban sites with golf courses and septic tanks showed high risk of P leaching with TP concentrations in the groundwater above the numeric criteria for streams in the north central Florida (0.3 mg L−1). Besides land use which reflected P loadings in the surface soils, significant positive correlations of P sorption maximum (Smax) with M3-Fe, Al, and organic matter, and the precipitation of P by calcium bicarbonate, imply the mechanism regulating soil P attenuation in vadose and saturated zones, respectively. Negative SPSC values were significantly negatively correlated with WSP in all the zones, suggesting the applicability of SPSC in deep soils. Moreover, high TP concentration was observed in the groundwater at one site where the SPSC value changed from positive in the surface soils to negative in the subsoils, indicating that an additive SPSC value to water table would be more robust for evaluating the potential of P leaching before moving down to the limestone area.

Application of Wavelet Coherence Method to Investigate Karst Spring Discharge Response to Climate Teleconnection Patterns

AbstractThe impact of climate teleconnections on the regional hydrometeorology has been well studied, but very little effort has been made to relate climate teleconnections with groundwater flow variation. In this study, we used a wavelet coherence method to analyze monthly climate indices, precipitation, and spring discharge data, and investigated the relation between major teleconnection patterns (the Arctic Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, El Niño‐Southern Oscillation, and Indian Ocean Dipole) and karst hydrological process in Niangziguan Springs Basin, China. The results indicate precipitation and spring discharges correlate well with climate indices at intra‐ and inter‐annual time scales. Further, the climate indices are mainly correlated with precipitation at shorter periodicities, but correlated with spring discharge at longer scales. The difference reflects the modulation of karst aquifers on precipitation‐spring discharge during the processes of precipitation infiltration into the ground, and subsequent transformation into spring discharge. When teleconnection signals are transmitted into spring discharge via precipitation infiltration and groundwater propagation, some high‐frequency climatic signals are likely to be filtered, attenuated, and delayed, thus only low‐frequency climatic signals are preserved in spring discharge.

How does the anthropogenic activity affect the spring discharge?

Karst hydrological process has largely been altered by climate change and human activity. In many places throughout the world, human activity (e.g. groundwater pumping and dewatering from mining) has intensified and surpassed climate change, where human activity becomes the primary factor that affects groundwater system. But it is still largely unclear how the human activity affects spring discharge in magnitude and periodicity. This study investigates the effects of anthropogenic activity on spring discharge, using the Xin'an Springs of China as an example. The Xin'an Spring discharge were divided into two time periods: the pre-development period from 1956 to 1971 and the post-development period from 1972 to 2013. We confirm the dividing time (i.e. 1971) of these two periods using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Then the wavelet transform and wavelet coherence were used to analyze the karst hydrological processes for the two periods respectively. We analyze the correlations of precipitation and the Xin’an spring discharge with the monsoons including the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) and the West North Pacific Monsoon (WNPM) and the climate teleconnections including El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), respectively. The results indicated that the spring discharge was attenuated about 19.63% under the influence of human activity in the Xin’an Springs basin. However, human activity did not alter the size of the resonance frequencies between the spring discharge and the monsoons. In contrast, it reinforced the periodicities of the monsoons-driven spring discharge. It suggested that human has adapted to the major climate periodicities, and human activity had the same rhyme with the primary climate periodicity. In return, human activity enhances the correlation between the monsoons and the spring discharge.

Post-tectonic landscape evolution of a coupled basin and range: Pinaleño Mountains and Safford Basin, southeastern Arizona

The Pinaleno Mountains and adjacent Safford Basin are a landscape defined by the extensional tectonics of the Basin and Range physiographic province. However, over the last ∼4 m.y., this coupled basin and range have been actively degrading in the absence of widespread regional extension. While rates of relief generation and upland erosion during active subsidence ca. 12–5 Ma are reflected in the geometry of the basin’s structure and the stratigraphy it contains, rates of post-tectonic landscape evolution from the Pliocene to the present have been heretofore unknown. We combined topographic analyses of the Pinaleno Mountains with cosmogenic nuclide–derived catchment-averaged erosion rates and burial dates of axial and piedmont deposits to quantify rates of post-tectonic landscape evolution and define a chronology for the last stages of deposition and subsequent incision in Safford Basin. In addition to constraining the timing of a deposit’s formation, cosmogenic nuclide burial dates provide paleo-upland erosion rates at the time of deposition. Erosion rates in the Pinaleno Mountains have been generally moderate over the past 4 m.y., ranging between ∼30 and 60 m/m.y. with no strong relationship to the drainage basins’ modern topography. A potential acceleration of erosion rates to 100–250 m/m.y. between 3.5 and 2 Ma correlates with an inferred period of enhanced precipitation as well as the arrival from upstream of the Gila River in Safford Basin sometime shortly before 2.8 Ma. Widespread incision of Safford Basin was under way by ca. 2 Ma, as recorded by the dissection of piedmont basin highstand deposits (Frye Mesa) and two intermediate Gila River terraces on the northeast margin of Safford Basin (dated to 1.8 Ma and 0.64 Ma). Gila River incision rates have ranged from 30 to 60 m/m.y. over the past 3 m.y. Paleo-upland erosion rates and modern millennial-scale upland erosion rates fall within the same range as incision rates of the Gila River in Safford Basin, suggesting that upland erosion rates are predominantly a function of base-level fall driven by axial incision. However, based on similarities between catchment-averaged erosion rates and topography from basins draining into the integrated Safford Basin and the still internally drained Sulphur Springs Basin to the south, it appears that upland erosion rates during the Quaternary are not being driven exclusively by regional incision rates.

The role of anthropogenic activities in karst spring discharge volatility

AbstractThe traditional hydrological time series methods tend to focus on the mean of whichever variable is analysed but neglect its time‐varying variance (i.e. assuming the variance remains constant). The variances of hydrological time series vary with time under anthropogenic influence. There is evidence that extensive well drilling and groundwater pumping can intercept groundwater run‐off and consequently induce spring discharge volatility or variance varying with time (i.e. heteroskedasticity). To investigate the time‐varying variance or heteroskedasticity of spring discharge, this paper presents a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average with general autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (SARIMA‐GARCH) model, whose the SARIMA model is used to estimate the mean of hydrological time series, and the GARCH model estimates its time‐varying variance. The SARIMA‐GARCH model was then applied to the Xin'an Springs Basin, China, where extensive groundwater development has occurred since 1978 (e.g. the average annual groundwater pumping rates were less than 0.20 m3/s in the 1970s, reached 1.20 m3/s at the end of the 1980s, surpassed 2.0 m3/s in the 1990s and exceeded 3.0 m3/s by 2007). To identify whether human activities or natural stressors caused the heteroskedasticity of Xin'an Springs discharge, we segmented the spring discharge sequence into two periods: a predevelopment stage (i.e. 1956–1977) and a developed stage (i.e. 1978–2012), and set up the SARIMA‐GARCH model for the two stages, respectively. By comparing the models, we detected the role of human activities in spring discharge volatility. The results showed that human activities caused the heteroskedasticity of the Xin'an Spring discharge. The predicted Xin'an Springs discharge by the SARIMA‐GARCH model showed that the mean monthly spring discharge is predicted to continue to decline to 0.93 m3/s in 2013, 0.67 m3/s in 2014 and 0.73 m3/s in 2015. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Identification of Strong Karst Groundwater Runoff Belt by Cross Wavelet Transform

Karst aquifers are highly heterogeneous and exhibit hierarchical permeability structures or flow paths. Conduits and fractures typically account for less than 1 percent of the porosity of the aquifer, but more than 95 percent of the permeability. For the purposes of karst groundwater resources management, as well as of protection strategies against potential contamination, identifying the strong karst groundwater runoff belt of an entire aquifer system is generally more important than information about a specific spring. In this project, we introduce cross wavelet transform to analyze the relation between precipitation and spring discharge, and then identify the strong karst groundwater runoff belt. In highly concentrated karst areas, the precipitation signal can penetrate an aquifer relatively easily and will readily affect spring discharge. The precipitation and spring discharge are thus closely related, and the cross wavelet transform coefficients are large. Conversely, in areas of low karst concentration, the cross wavelet transform coefficients are small. We applied the method to Niangziguan Springs Basin in China to detect the strong karst groundwater runoff belt. Results showed that Pingding County and Yangquan City have a high degree of karstification (i.e. the strong karst groundwater runoff belt), Xiyang County and Shouyang County have a moderate degree of karstification, and Yuxian County, Heshun County, and Zuoquan County have a low degree of karstification. The results agree with the geological structure of Niangziguan Springs Basin.

Investigation of karst hydrological processes by using grey auto-incidence analysis

The karst hydrological processes are the response of karst groundwater system to precipitation. The precipitation penetrates through the vadose zone, the subsequent groundwater pressure wave propagates to a spring outlet, and then, the spring discharge changes. This paper proposes a grey auto-incidence analysis for studying the karst hydrological processes. The method can detect the periodicity of a time series, for example, precipitation and spring discharge. Then the approach is applied to Liulin Springs Basin, China. The results show that the auto-incidence degree of precipitation reaches to the maximum (i.e., 0.816) when time delay equals to 8 years. The auto-incidence degree of spring discharge reaches to the maximum (i.e., 0.865) when time delay equals to 3 years. These results show that the periodicity of precipitation is 8 years, and of spring discharge is 3 years. The difference of periodicity between the precipitation and the spring discharge reveals that the processes of precipitation recharging groundwater and groundwater transport are regulated or controlled by karst aquifer. Because of heterogeneity of karst aquifer, the quick flow and base flow occur during the groundwater propagation, which causes the periodicity of spring discharge is not coincidence with of precipitation.

Intermediate Collaborative Adaptive Management Strategies Build Stakeholder Capacity

Monroe, M. C., R. Plate, and A. Oxarart. 2013. Intermediate collaborative adaptive management strategies build stakeholder capacity. Ecology and Society 18(2): 24. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-05444-180224

Simulating effect of anthropogenic activities and climate variation on Liulin Springs discharge depletion by using the ARIMAX model

AbstractBased on the groundwater development process, and regional economic and social developing history, we divided the spring hydrological process of the Liulin Springs Basin into two periods: pre‐1973 and post‐1974. In the first period (i.e. 1957–1973), the spring discharge was affected by climate variation alone, and in the second period (i.e. 1974–2009), the spring discharge charge was influenced by both climate variation and human activities. A piecewise analysis strategy was used to differentiate the contribution of anthropogenic activities from climate variation on karst spring discharge depletion in the second period. Then, the ARIMAX model was applied to spring flow time series of the first period to develop a model for the effects of climate variation only. Using this model, we estimated the spring discharge in the second period solely under the influence of climate variation. Based on the water budget, we subtracted observed spring discharge from the estimated spring discharge and acquired the contribution of human activities on spring discharge depletion for the second period. The results of the analysis indicated that the contribution of climate variation to the spring discharge depletion is−0.20 m3/s from 1970s to 2000s. The contribution of anthropogenic activities to the spring flow depletion was −2.56 m3/s in 2000s, which was about 13 times more than that of climate variation. Our analysis further indicates that groundwater exploitation only accounts for 29% of the spring flow depletion due to the effects of human activities. The remaining 71% of the depletion is likely to be caused by other human activities, including dam building, dewatering during coal mining, and deforestation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Karst Hydrological Processes and Grey System Model1

Hao, Yonghong, Jiaojuan Zhao, Huamin Li, Bibo Cao, Zhongtang Li, and Tian‐Chyi J. Yeh, 2012. Karst Hydrological Processes and Grey System Model. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(4): 656‐666. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00640.xAbstract: The karst hydrological processes are the response of karst groundwater system to precipitation. This study provided a concept model of karst hydrological processes. The hydraulic response time of spring discharge to precipitation includes the time that precipitation penetrates through the vadose zone, and the subsequent groundwater pressure wave propagates to a spring outlet. Due to heterogeneities in karst aquifers, the hydraulic response time is different in different areas. By using grey system theory, we proposed a karst hydrological model that offers a calculation of hydraulic response time, and a response model of spring discharge to precipitation. Then, we applied the models to the Liulin Springs Basin, China. In the south part of the Liulin Springs Basin, where large fields of carbonate rocks outcrop with intensive karstification, the hydraulic response time is one year. In the north, where the Ordovician karst aquifer is covered by Quaternary loess sediments, the response time is seven years. The grey system GM(1,3) response model of spring discharge to precipitation was applied in consideration of the hydraulic response time. The model calibration showed that the average error was 6.55%, and validation showed that the average error was 12.19%.

Investigation of karstic hydrological processes of Niangziguan Springs (North China) using wavelet analysis

AbstractNiangziguan Spring complex is the largest karst spring in North China. We investigate the karst hydrological processes by using Morlet wavelet transform analysis and cross wavelet analysis based on monthly precipitation from 1958 to 2010 and spring discharge from 1958 to 2009. From Morlet wavelet transform coefficients of precipitation and the spring discharge in Niangziguan Springs Basin, we find that the precipitation and discharge are characterized by the multi‐scale features in the time domain, and the energy distribution of the signal is highly irregular across scales. Although precipitation eventually becomes spring discharge by infiltrating and propagating through karst formations, the signals are attenuated. The results also show that the precipitation of Niangziguan Springs Basin has the main periodic components of 1‐, 5‐, 12‐, and 17‐year periods with alternating wet–drought cycle. Similarly, the spring discharge of Niangziguan Springs has the main components of 17‐year periods, but the 1‐, 5‐, and 12‐year periodicity of precipitation are not reflected in spring discharge, which is filtered by the aquifers. The results of cross wavelet analysis reveal that the precipitation and spring discharge share the common periodicity of 17 years. This means that those signals with high energy and long timescales can penetrate through the aquifer and be reflected in spring discharge, whereas other signals are filtered and modified. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Grey system model with time lag and application to simulation of karst spring discharge

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of time lag to grey system models, and propose the grey system models with time lags.Design/methodology/approachThe models were applied to calculate the time lags between spring flow and precipitation (i.e. hydraulic response time) and simulate karst spring discharge in Liulin Springs Basin, China.FindingsThe results show that the time lags of Lishi, Zhongyang, and Fangshan are three, five, and eight, respectively. By considering the time lags, we set up the grey system GM(1,4) response model of Liulin Springs discharge to precipitation of Lishi, Zhongyang, and Fangshan.Originality/valueThe results are in agreement with regional geological structure and provide a better understanding of karst hydrological processes of Liulin Springs Basin.

Response of karst springs to climate change and anthropogenic activities: the Niangziguan Springs, China

Discharge from the largest karst spring in north China, the Niangziguan Springs, has been declining since the 1950s. This paper examines the response of these springs to climatic change and anthropogenic influence by attempting a model-based discrimination between phases in the stream discharge record. In Niangziguan Springs Basin, the exploitation of karst groundwater began in 1979. Accordingly, the spring discharge data were divided into two phases: pre-1979 and post-1979. In the first phase (1957—78) the spring discharge was believed to be affected solely by climate change, and in the second phase (1979—2007) the spring discharge was influenced by both climate change and human activities. Using grey system theory, a discharge model was estimated for the first phase. Extrapolating the model, we obtained a projection of the spring discharge during the second phase. Using a water balance calculation, we discerned the respective effects of climate change and human activities on depletion of spring discharge for the second phase. The results show that the contribution of climate change to depletion of Niangziguan Springs is 2.30m3/s and the contribution of anthropogenic activities ranges from 1.89 to 2.90 m3/s, although this assumes a constant for the climate change effect. Accordingly, the anthropogenic effects have been approaching and surpassing the effects of climate change during the second phase. With respect to the impact of human activities on spring discharge, groundwater abstraction accounts for only about 34—52% of the declines; 48—66% of the declines are related to other human activities, such as dewatering from coal mining, dam building and deforestation.

Estimating Nitrogen Loading to Ground Water and Assessing Vulnerability to Nitrate Contamination in a Large Karstic Springs Basin, Florida1

Abstract: A nitrogen (N) mass‐balance budget was developed to assess the sources of N affecting increasing ground‐water nitrate concentrations in the 960‐km2 karstic Ichetucknee Springs basin. This budget included direct measurements of N species in rainfall, ground water, and spring waters, along with estimates of N loading from fertilizers, septic tanks, animal wastes, and the land application of treated municipal wastewater and residual solids. Based on a range of N leaching estimates, N loads to ground water ranged from 262,000 to 1.3 million kg/year; and were similar to N export from the basin in spring waters (266,000 kg/year) when 80‐90% N losses were assumed. Fertilizers applied to cropland, lawns, and pine stands contributed about 51% of the estimated total annual N load to ground water in the basin. Other sources contributed the following percentages of total N load to ground water: animal wastes, 27%; septic tanks, 12%; atmospheric deposition, 8%; and the land application of treated wastewater and biosolids, 2%. Due to below normal rainfall (97.3 cm) during the 12‐month rainfall collection period, N inputs from rainfall likely were about 30% lower than estimates for normal annual rainfall (136 cm). Low N‐isotope values for six spring waters (δ15N‐NO3 = 3.3 to 6.3‰) and elevated potassium concentrations in ground water and spring waters were consistent with the large N contribution from fertilizers. Given ground‐water residence times on the order of decades for spring waters, possible sinks for excess N inputs to the basin include N storage in the unsaturated zone and parts of the aquifer with relatively sluggish ground‐water movement and denitrification. A geographical‐based model of spatial loading from fertilizers indicated that areas most vulnerable to nitrate contamination were located in closed depressions containing sinkholes and other dissolution features in the southern half of the basin.

Groundwater quality impacts from the land application of treated municipal wastewater in a large karstic spring basin: Chemical and microbiological indicators

Geochemical and microbiological techniques were used to assess water-quality impacts from the land application of treated municipal wastewater in the karstic Wakulla Springs basin in northern Florida. Nitrate-N concentrations have increased from about 0.2 to as high as 1.1 mg/L (milligrams per liter) during the past 30 years in Wakulla Springs, a regional discharge point for groundwater (mean flow about 11.3 m 3/s) from the Upper Floridan aquifer (UFA). A major source of nitrate to the UFA is the approximately 64 million L/d (liters per day) of treated municipal wastewater applied at a 774 ha (hectare) sprayfield farming operation. About 260 chemical and microbiological indicators were analyzed in water samples from the sprayfield effluent reservoir, wells upgradient from the sprayfield, and from 21 downgradient wells and springs to assess the movement of contaminants into the UFA. Concentrations of nitrate-N, boron, chloride, were elevated in water samples from the sprayfield effluent reservoir and in monitoring wells at the sprayfield boundary. Mixing of sprayfield effluent water was indicated by a systematic decrease in concentrations of these constituents with distance downgradient from the sprayfield, with about a 10-fold dilution at Wakulla Springs, about 15 km (kilometers) downgradient from the sprayfield. Groundwater with elevated chloride and boron concentrations in wells downgradient from the sprayfield and in Wakulla Springs had similar nitrate isotopic signatures, whereas the nitrate isotopic composition of water from other sites was consistent with inorganic fertilizers or denitrification. The sprayfield operation was highly effective in removing most studied organic wastewater and pharmaceutical compounds and microbial indicators. Carbamazepine (an anti-convulsant drug) was the only pharmaceutical compound detected in groundwater from two sprayfield monitoring wells (1–2 ppt). One other detection of carbamazepine was found in a distant well water sample where enteroviruses also were detected, indicating a likely influence from a nearby septic tank.

Using chemical and microbiological indicators to track the impacts from the land application of treated municipal wastewater and other sources on groundwater quality in a karstic springs basin

Multiple chemical constituents (nutrients; N, O, H, C stable isotopes; 64 organic wastewater compounds, 16 pharmaceutical compounds) and microbiological indicators were used to assess the impact on groundwater quality from the land application of approximately 9.5 million liters per day of treated municipal sewage effluent to a sprayfield in the 960-km2 Ichetucknee Springs basin, northern Florida. Enriched stable isotope signatures (δ18O and δ2H) were found in water from the effluent reservoir and a sprayfield monitoring well (MW-7) due to evaporation; however, groundwater samples downgradient from the sprayfield have δ18O and δ2H concentrations that represented recharge of meteoric water. Boron and chloride concentrations also were elevated in water from the sprayfield effluent reservoir and MW-7, but concentrations in groundwater decreased substantially with distance downgradient to background levels in the springs (about 12 km) and indicated at least a tenfold dilution factor. Nitrate-nitrogen isotope (δ15N–NO3) values above 10 ‰ in most water samples were indicative of organic nitrogen sources except Blue Hole Spring (δ15N–NO3 = 4.6–4.9 ‰), which indicated an inorganic source of nitrogen (fertilizers). The detection of low concentrations the insect repellent N,N-diethyl-metatoluamide (DEET), and other organic compounds associated with domestic wastewater in Devil’s Eye Spring indicated that leakage from a nearby septic tank drainfield likely has occurred. Elevated levels of fecal coliforms and enterococci were found in Blue Hole Spring during higher flow conditions, which likely resulted from hydraulic connections to upgradient sinkholes and are consistent with previoius dye-trace studies. Enteroviruses were not detected in the sprayfield effluent reservoir, but were found in low concentrations in water samples from a downgradient well and Blue Hole Spring during high-flow conditions indicating a human wastewater source. The Upper Floridan aquifer in the Ichetucknee Springs basin is highly vulnerable to contamination from multiple anthropogenic sources throughout the springs basin.

Sediment and water phosphorus characteristics in a pond of spring origin, Sakaryabaşi springs basin, Turkey

The purpose of this study was to determine the changes in concentrations of phosphorus and iron in pondwater and porewater in the littoral zone of Sakaryabasi-Kirkgiz pond in central Turkey. The pond supplies water to the Rainbow Trout Fish Culture and Research Station in four months in which temperatures do not show a strong variation (16 8C-228C). Concentrations of soluble reactive phosphorus were 4- to 5- fold higher in porewater than in pondwater; thus, diffusion of SRP from porewater to pondwater might be possible. Water content of the sediment was high, although loss on ignition ranged from 13 to 18 % and iron content ranged from 0.16 to 0.22 mg/gdw. The total phosphorus content of the sediment was high, with a range 0.64 to 1.70 mg/gdw, and organic phosphorus was the dominant sedimentary phosphate pool in October, January, and April. Despite having calcerous sediment in the drainage area, a relatively low quantity of phosphorus was bound to calcium and aluminium. In April and October, sediment phosphorus and SRP in porewater and overlying water were greater than in other months. Our results suggest that it would be more appropriate to control phosphorus concentration in spring and autumn than in the warm summer months.