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Featured articles from Cave & Karst Science Journals
Characterization of minothems at Libiola (NW Italy): morphological, mineralogical, and geochemical study, Carbone Cristina; Dinelli Enrico; De Waele Jo
Chemistry and Karst, White, William B.
The karst paradigm: changes, trends and perspectives, Klimchouk, Alexander
Long-term erosion rate measurements in gypsum caves of Sorbas (SE Spain) by the Micro-Erosion Meter method, Sanna, Laura; De Waele, Jo; Calaforra, José Maria; Forti, Paolo
The use of damaged speleothems and in situ fault displacement monitoring to characterise active tectonic structures: an example from Zapadni Cave, Czech Republic , Briestensky, Milos; Stemberk, Josef; Rowberry, Matt D.;
Featured articles from other Geoscience Journals
Karst environment, Culver D.C.
Mushroom Speleothems: Stromatolites That Formed in the Absence of Phototrophs, Bontognali, Tomaso R.R.; D’Angeli Ilenia M.; Tisato, Nicola; Vasconcelos, Crisogono; Bernasconi, Stefano M.; Gonzales, Esteban R. G.; De Waele, Jo
Calculating flux to predict future cave radon concentrations, Rowberry, Matt; Marti, Xavi; Frontera, Carlos; Van De Wiel, Marco; Briestensky, Milos
Microbial mediation of complex subterranean mineral structures, Tirato, Nicola; Torriano, Stefano F.F;, Monteux, Sylvain; Sauro, Francesco; De Waele, Jo; Lavagna, Maria Luisa; D’Angeli, Ilenia Maria; Chailloux, Daniel; Renda, Michel; Eglinton, Timothy I.; Bontognali, Tomaso Renzo Rezio
Evidence of a plate-wide tectonic pressure pulse provided by extensometric monitoring in the Balkan Mountains (Bulgaria), Briestensky, Milos; Rowberry, Matt; Stemberk, Josef; Stefanov, Petar; Vozar, Jozef; Sebela, Stanka; Petro, Lubomir; Bella, Pavel; Gaal, Ludovit; Ormukov, Cholponbek;
Chemical Geology, 2001, Vol 179, Issue 4, p. 113-128
Determination of the sources of nitrate contamination in karst springs using isotopic and chemical indicators
Panno S. V. , Hackley K. C. , Hwang H. H. , Kelly W. R. ,
Abstract:
The sources of nitrate (NO3-) in groundwater of the shallow karst aquifer in southwestern Illinois' sinkhole plain were investigated using chemical and isotopic techniques. The groundwater in this aquifer is an important source of potable water for about half of the residents of the sinkhole plain area. Previous work has shown that groundwater from approximately 18% of the wells in the sinkhole plain has NO3- concentrations in excess of the USEPA's drinking water standard of 10 mg N/1 Relative to background levels, the NO3- concentrations in water from 52% of the wells, and probably all of the springs in the study area, are anomalously high, suggesting that sources other than naturally occurring soil organic matter have contributed additional NO3- to groundwater in the shallow karst aquifer. This information, and the dominance of agriculture in the study area, suggest that agrichemical contributions may be significant. To test this hypothesis, water samples from 10 relatively large karst springs were collected during four different seasons and analyzed for inorganic constituents, dissolved organic carbon, atrazine, and delta (15) N and delta O-18 of the NO3- ions. The isotopic data were most definitive and suggested that the sources of NO3- in spring water are dominated by N-fertilizer with some possible influence of atmospheric NO3- and, to a much lesser extent, human and/or animal waste. Differences in the isotopic composition of NO3- and some of the chemical characteristics were observed during the four consecutive seasons in which spring water samples were collected. Isotopic values for delta N-15 and delta O-18 of the NO3- ranged from 3.2%o to 19.1%o and from 7.2%o to 18.7%o respectively. The trend of delta N-15 and delta O-18 data for NO3- also indicated that a significant degree of denitrification is occurring in the shallow karst hydrologic system (within the soil zone, the epikarst and the shallow karst aquifer) prior to discharging to springs. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
The sources of nitrate (NO3-) in groundwater of the shallow karst aquifer in southwestern Illinois' sinkhole plain were investigated using chemical and isotopic techniques. The groundwater in this aquifer is an important source of potable water for about half of the residents of the sinkhole plain area. Previous work has shown that groundwater from approximately 18% of the wells in the sinkhole plain has NO3- concentrations in excess of the USEPA's drinking water standard of 10 mg N/1 Relative to background levels, the NO3- concentrations in water from 52% of the wells, and probably all of the springs in the study area, are anomalously high, suggesting that sources other than naturally occurring soil organic matter have contributed additional NO3- to groundwater in the shallow karst aquifer. This information, and the dominance of agriculture in the study area, suggest that agrichemical contributions may be significant. To test this hypothesis, water samples from 10 relatively large karst springs were collected during four different seasons and analyzed for inorganic constituents, dissolved organic carbon, atrazine, and delta (15) N and delta O-18 of the NO3- ions. The isotopic data were most definitive and suggested that the sources of NO3- in spring water are dominated by N-fertilizer with some possible influence of atmospheric NO3- and, to a much lesser extent, human and/or animal waste. Differences in the isotopic composition of NO3- and some of the chemical characteristics were observed during the four consecutive seasons in which spring water samples were collected. Isotopic values for delta N-15 and delta O-18 of the NO3- ranged from 3.2%o to 19.1%o and from 7.2%o to 18.7%o respectively. The trend of delta N-15 and delta O-18 data for NO3- also indicated that a significant degree of denitrification is occurring in the shallow karst hydrologic system (within the soil zone, the epikarst and the shallow karst aquifer) prior to discharging to springs. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
Keywords: agriculture, aquifer, area, atrazine, c, carbon, constituents, contamination, delta, delta-o-18, denitrification, dissolved organic carbon, dominance, drinking water, drinking-water, epikarst, extent, groundwater, illinois, indicator, indicators, information, ions, isotopic composition, karst, karst aquifer, karst spring, karst springs, level, matter, mg, n-15, nitrate, nitrate contamination, o-18, organic carbon, organic matter, organic-carbon, organic-matter, plain, resident, sample, science, season, shallow karst, sinkhole, soil, soil organic matter, source, spring, springs, state, system, time, times, usa, values, water, wells, zone,