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Alpine karst throughout the world has been affected by past glaciation, and yet little is known of the interactions between glacier ice and karst. This dissertation attempts to gain some understanding of the problem through the study of the Castleguard Area, Alberta, where a karst aquifer is presently overlain by temperate glacier ice.
Quantitative fluorometric tracing and hydrometric measurements generated a broad data base on aquifer behaviour. Tracer breakthrough curves were interpreted using a new systematic approach which considers an explicit set of processes likely to affect the particular tracer under the given experimental conditions. Non-linearity in aquifer behaviour and rapid groundwater velocities demonstrated the aquifer to be an extreme conduit type Conduit springs are elements in a vertical hierarchy in which the topmost springs are "overflows" and exhibit greater flow variability than their associated "underflows". A numerical model was developed to simulate a conduit aquifer. It demonstrated that pulse train and recession analysis widely accepted methods of karst aquifer investigation, could be rather misleading when applied to conduit aquifers.
Interactions between ice and groundwater were observed at two scales: regulation water appeared to feed a diffuse percolation system and supraglacial melt passed into subglacial conduits which entered open vadose shafts. Karst is unlikely to be entirely subglacial in origin because of the limited aggressiveness of subglacial waters.
The Castlegaurd karst appeared to have originated preglacially in response to the breaching of impermeable caprock. Glaciation re-ordered the landscape and produced abundant clastic debris which subsequently blocked or obstructed karst conduits. Much of the resulting karst is paragenetic and comparatively immature due to glacial disruption and slow growth rates. Geomorphic and hydrologic interactions between ice and karst depend intimately upon the relationship between the geographic zones of the glacier and the aquifer.
An analysis of the discharge and hydrochemical variations of contrasting springs at Crowsnest Pass showed they were part of a vertical hierarchy in the aquifer, in which underflow and overflow components play a dominant role. It was found that karst springs at Crowsnest Pass and elsewhere show a range between two end members. Thermal springs have long, deep flow paths, with high sulphate concentrations, low discharge variance and low flow velocities. Overflow springs have local shallow flow paths, low sulphate, high discharge variance, and high flow velocities. Intermediate between these end members are underflow springs; in the Rocky Mountains these are mostly aggraded, and give the sustained winter flow and high sulphate concentrations found in major rivers. It was found that underflow or overflow behaviour is able to explain most of the contrasts found between karst springs in discharge and sulphate concentrations. Conversely, differences in bicarbonate concentration are principally due to the ratio of allogenic to autogenic recharge to the aquifer. Hydraulic analysis showed that gradients decrease in the downstream direction, and are typically 0.0001-0.05 at maximum discharges, that friction factors vary by a factor of $>$1000, and that most active conduits have closed-channel flow and are in dynamic equilibrium with sediment supply. The analysis of the hydrological data from Crowsnest Pass and elsewhere has led to the development of a new conceptual model for groundwater flow in karst, in which the Hagen-Poiseuille flow net conditions the aquifer for conduit development, and determines where the conduits will be. The model explains why most conduits are in dynamic equilibrium with sediment supply, why temperate karst springs are mostly vauclusian, what the mean time for speleogenesis is, how $>$98% of the solution of limestone is in the surficial zone, and why there are karstic hot springs in the Rocky Mountains and elsewhere. The model enables predictions to be made of sink to resurgence flow velocities, of conduit depth below the water table, of the ratio of beds to joints used by conduits, of the spacing between cave tiers, and of the depth of vauclusian springs. This new understanding of how karstic aquifers develop and function gives a powerful predictive ability to karst hydrogeology.
Limestone Pavements are highly significant components of the physiographic and ecological landscapes of the UK. As relict glacial features they are subject to destruction by natural processes but also by human intervention. This thesis identifies the most effective methods to monitor such change at a variety of temporal and spatial scales, based on the Morecambe Bay pavements at Hutton Roof and Farleton Fell. The starting point for such a study is a methodology to define the baseline on which to base change detection and the key to this is the development of a suitably detailed scene model. This must reflect the environment at the macro-, meso- and micro- scales and also incorporate considerations of the dynamics involved in the landscape evolution. The scene model (the Land Surface Classification Hierarchy (LSCH)) was developed by field measurement of the reflectance spectra of the main elements, biotic and abiotic, with measurements of the pavement surface in terms of the scale of karren development and the texture of the limestone itself. Study of the DEM allowed a fractal dimension to be established and also the nature of ice-flow and its contribution to pavement development, with extending flow, entraining fractured limestone blocks above a plastic, impermeable shale band, being the main mechanism. At the meso scale pavements were classified according to clint form derived from intra-pavement trends in grike direction calculated by Preferred Direction Analysis. Measurements of the key karren forms, runnels, solution pits and pipes and grikes allow assessment of their contribution to the variability of the pavement surface as an element of the scene model through the identification of solution domains. Identification of different lithologies allowed an investigation of spatial variation across the study area, although lithological control on karren form and magnitude is weaker than variability from age of exposure as shown by statistical analysis of karren morphometry using univariate comparative methods and Link diagrams, bivariate and multivariate regression, discriminant analysis, cluster analysis, multi-dimensional scaling and star diagrams with the derived Star Index. Pavements were classified according to karren morphometry. The traditional view of pedestals as an indicator of solution rates, and hence the concentration of solution at the surface, is challenged through the investigation of water flow over the pavement surface and the consideration of the role of lichen as a protective agent as well as the size of solution pits and grike width. It is suggested that only 10% of solution potential is achieved at the surface with 43% in the immediate epikarst. From this solution rate diagrams were developed, allowing the dating of exposure of pavements. These were shown to be within the period when human impact in the area was becoming significant and confirms an early anthropogenic impact on this element of the landscape. Further to this the development of grikes as emergent features was confirmed and this linked to the concept of breakthrough, allowing a model of grike development to be proposed, an important consideration in the dynamics of pavement change. At the micro scale texture analysis allowed the calculation of fractal measures which are related to variations in reflectance. The radiometric response of biotic and abiotic elements of the scene model was analysed confirming the facility of the baseline scene reflectance model of the pavement. Remotely sensed images from the Airborne Digital Camera were linked to ATM, CASI and TM images assessing the effect of scale on change detection and the evaluation of the pavement environment.
This book draws together the major recent advances in the modeling of karst systems. Based on the dissolution kinetics of limestone, and flow and transport processes in its fractures, it presents a hierarchy of cave genetic situations that range from the enlargement of a single fracture to the evolution of cavernous drainage patterns in confined and unconfined karst aquifers. These results are also applied to the evolution of leakage below dam sites in karst. The book offers a wealth of information that helps to understand the development of cave systems. It addresses geologists, hydrologists, geomorphologists, and geographers. It is also of interest to all scientists and engineers who have responsibilities for groundwater exploration and management in karst terrains.
?Processes of Speleogenesis: a Modeling Approach is an exciting book that brings together and displays the products of the first and second generations of karst cave and aquifer computer modeling in a succinct fashion, with excellent illustrations and stimulating contrasts of approach. It is a ?benchmark? publication that all who are interested in speleogenesis should read. It will be a very useful volume for teaching, not only in karst and hydrogeology, but for others who use computer modeling in the physical and spatial sciences.? (From the foreword by D.C. Ford)
?This book is an extraordinary achievement that warrants close attention by anyone interested in speleogenesis??This book is ideal for researchers in speleogenesis who have a solid grasp in technical aspects. Most of the necessary background information is outlined in the first chapter, but subtle aspects will be clear only to those who already have a good background in geochemistry and computer modeling especially when interpreting the figures. This book is not aimed at groundwater hydrologists, although the results would be eye-opening to anyone in that field who denies the importance of solution conduits in carbonate aquifers.? (From book review by A.N. Palmer, JCKS, Volume 67, No.3, 2005)
?To specialists the book is very helpful and and up-to-date, providing many ideas and answering many questions.? (From book review by P. Hauselmann, Die Hohle, Volume 56, 2005)
CONTENTS
- Introduction
- Equilibrium chemistry and dissolution kinetics of limestone in H2O-CO2 solutions
- The evolution of a single fracture
- Modeling karst evolution on two-dimensional networks: constant head boundary conditions
- Unconfined aquifers under various boundary conditions
- Karstification below dam sites
- Conclusion and future perspectives
- Bibliography
GUEST CHAPTER by Sebastian Bauer, Steffen Birk, Rudolf Liedl and Martin Sauter
Simulation of karst aquifer genesis using a double permeability approach investigation for confined and unconfined settings
GUEST CHAPTER by Georg Kaufmann
Structure and evolution of karst aquifers: a finite-element numerical modeling approach
This paper aims to establish evidence for the widespread existence of metal binding and transport by natural organic matter (NOM) in karst dripwaters, the imprint of which in speleothems may have important climatic significance. We studied the concentration of trace metals and organic carbon (OC) in sequentially filtered dripwaters and soil leachates from three contrasting sites: Poole's Cavern (Derbyshire, UK), Lower Balls Green Mine (Gloucestershire, UK) and Grotta di Ernesto (Trentino, Italy). The size-distribution of metals in the three soils was highly similar, but distinct from that found in fractionated dripwaters: surface-reactive metals were concentrated in the coarse fraction (>100 nm) of soils, but in the fine colloidal (b100 nm) and nominally dissolved (b1 nm) fractions of dripwaters. The concentration of Cu, Ni and Co in dripwater samples across all sites were well correlated (R2=0.84 and 0.70, Cu vs. Ni, Cu vs. Co, respectively), indicating a common association. Furthermore, metal ratios (Cu:Ni, Cu:Co) were consistent with NICA-Donnan n1 humic binding affinity ratios for these metals, consistent with a competitive hierarchy of binding affinity (Cu>Ni>Co) for sites in colloidal or dissolved NOM. Large shifts in Cu:Ni in dripwaters coincided with high fluxes of particulate OC (following peak infiltration) and showed increased similarity to ratios in soils, diagnostic of qualitative changes in NOMsupply (i.e. fresh inputs of more aromatic/hydrophobic soil organic matter (SOM) with Cu outcompeting Ni for suitable binding sites). Results indicate that at high-flows (i.e. where fracture-fed flow dominates) particulates and colloids migrate at similar rates, whereas, in slow seepage-flow dripwaters, particulates (>1 μm) and small colloids (1–100 nm) decouple, resulting in two distinct modes of NOM–metal transport: high-flux and low-flux. At the hyperalkaline drip site PE1 (in Poole's Cavern), high-fluxes of metals (Cu, Ni, Zn, Ti, Mn, Fe) and particulate NOM occurred in rapid, short-lived pulses following peak infiltration events, whereas low-fluxes of metals (Co and V>Cu, Ni and Ti) and fluorescent NOM (b ca. 100 nm) were offset from infiltration events, probably because small organic colloids (1–100 nm) and solutes (b1 nm) were slower to migate through the porous matrix than particulates. These results demonstrate the widespread occurrence of both colloidal and particulate NOM–metal transport in cave dripwaters and the importance of karst hydrology in affecting the breakthrough times of different species. Constraints imposed by soil processes (colloid/particle release), direct contributions of metals and NOM from rainfall, and flow-routing (colloid/particle migration) are expected to determine the strength of correlations between NOM-transported metals in speleothems and climatic signals. Changes in trace metal ratios (e.g. Cu:Ni) in speleothems may encode information on NOMcomposition, potentially aiding in targeting of compound-specific investigations and for the assessment of changes in the quality of soil organic matter.
Mineral ontogeny is the study of the growth and development of mineral deposits in general and, in the present context, speleothems in particular. Previous researchers, mainly in Russia, have developed a nomenclatural hierarchy based on the forms and habits of individual crystals and the assembly of individual crystals into both monomineralic and polymineralic aggegates (i.e. speleothems). Although investigations of the growth processes of speleothems are sparse, there is a large literature on growth processes of speleothem minerals and related crystals in the geochemical and materials science literature. The purpose of the present paper is to sort through the various concepts of crystal growth and attempt to relate these to observations on speleothems and to the Russian conceptual framework of mineral ontogeny. For calcite, the most common mineral in speleothems, the activation energy for two dimensional nucleation (required for the growth of large single crystals) is almost the same as the activation energy for three- dimensional nucleation (which would result in the growth of many small crystals). Calcite growth is highly sensitive to minor impurities that may poison growth in certain crystallographic directions or may poison growth altogether. Extensive recent research using the atomic force microscope (AFM) provides many details of calcite growth including the transition from growth on screw dislocations to growth by two-dimensional nucleation. The deposition of aragonite speleothems requires metastable supersaturation curve and is usually ascribed to the impurities Mg2+ and Sr2+. AFM studies reveal that Mg2+ poisons calcite growth by blocking deposition sites on dislocations, thus allowing supersaturation to build up past the aragonite solubility curve. Sr2+ precipitates as a Sr-rich nucleus with the aragonite structure which acts as a template for aragonite growth. The different morphology of gypsum speleothems can be explained by the different growth habit of gypsum. Examples of twinned growth, dendrite growth, and spherulitic growth are common in the crystal growth literature and can be used to interpret the corresponding cave forms. Interpretation of monomineralic aggregate growth follows from individual crystal mechanisms. Interpretation of polymineralic aggregate growth requires knowing the evolving chemistry which in turn requires new methods for the sampling and analysis of microliter or nanoliter quantities of fluid.
In three selected drips in the Postojna cave in SWw Slovenia and in the nearby Korentan spring, which in general belongs to the same karst aquifer, the discharge and electrical conductivity were measured at 15-minute intervals. Simultaneously, the meteorological parameters in Postojna were measured and the effective infiltration was assessed. The data obtained in the period of one hydrological year, 2003–2004, was compared in order to study the influence of the vadose flow on the characteristics of groundwater flow in a karst system and on the functioning of a karst spring. The highest discharges of the Korentan spring are the result of the inflow of water through a hierarchy of fissures of various permeabilities within the vadose zone, but the contribution of stored water from low-permeability zones is especially important. One of our most significant findings is that in the conditions of high saturation of the vadose zone, the network of small fissures is hydraulically connected, which enables an integral reaction of the system to the pressure pulse induced by infiltrated precipitation. On the other hand, a detailed comparison of effective infiltration and discharge indicates that in dry periods with a lower saturation of the vadose zone, the infiltrated precipitation is mainly stored in the system and only the most permeable fissures enable a rapid transfer of the recharge impulses toward the spring. Data on measured discharge and conductivity were additionally compared in order to study the complex conditions of the actual mass flow of water through the system.
By definition, karstic flow systems are networks of solutional conduits. Their spatial patterns and hierarchical organisation are strongly affected by differing lithology and geologic structure, and by the location and modes of recharge – unconfined, confined, interformational. For purposes of discussion, this paper will review six examples rang-ing across platform and reefal limestones and dolostones, dolostone breccias, gypsum and salt, in widely differing structural, geomorphic and hydrologic settings: (1) The Carcajou River karst at Lat. 65° N in the Mackenzie Mountains, where leaky permafrost superimposes a frozen ground hierarchy on those due to lithology, structure and topog-raphy: (2) The S Nahanni River karst at Lat. 62° N, with an intrusive-derived local thermal system and lengthy, strike-oriented meteoric flow systems that contribute to an outlet H2S thermal system at the basin topographic low: (3) Castleguard Mountain Karst (Lat. 52° N) in massive Main Ranges structures of the Rocky Mountains, with a complex alpine hierarchy of base-flow and overflow springs: (4) Crowsnest Pass, in steep thrust structures in the Rocky Mountain Front Ranges, where regional strike-oriented flow systems extending between Lats. 49° and 50° N and paired above and below a major aquitard have been disaggregated by glacial cirque incision: (5) The Black Hills geologic dome at Lat. 44° N in South Dakota, USA, with a sequence of hot springs at low points around the perimeter, discharging through sandstones but with some of the world’s most extensive hypogene maze caves formed in a limestone karst barré setting behind them: (6) The Sierra de El Abra, at Lat. 23° N in Mexico, a deep and lengthy (100 km) reef-backreef limestone range being progressively exposed and karstified by stripping of a cover of clastic rocks; the springs are few but amongst the largest known in karst anywhere, located at the northern and southern low extremities along the strike of the reef, plus breaches (windows) in the cover further south.